Children of the Dark - Year 4
by cleotheo
Summary: With Voldemort back, and the Triwizard Tournament taking place at Hogwarts, it should be an exciting year for the trio. As the trio face their fourth year at Hogwarts, romance blossoms for Hermione and Draco, while danger lurks for Harry. Dark Hermione! Dark Harry! Part four of a seven part series.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Welcome back to Children of the Dark. Year 4 is the last year the follows the books fairly closely, although there are differences as normal. Year 4 also sees the start of the romance between Hermione and Draco.**

 **This year has 27 chapters and updates will be the usual, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Although with Christmas approaching, there might be an extra update in the later stages of the year.**

 **This first chapter sets up what's going to be happening, and lays out the plans for the year ahead. I just hope people enjoy reading year 4 as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

* * *

Hermione Granger sat in the back garden at Malfoy Manor, watching her two best friends flying around in the sky. Harry and Draco had been enraptured by the ongoing Quidditch World Cup, and were using every spare moment to recreate the skills they'd heard the players had used during matches. So far, neither boy had seen a match live, but that was about to change in just over a fortnight's time when the final of the tournament was played.

As a wealthy, influential wizard, Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, had secured tickets for himself, Narcissa, Draco and a couple of Draco's friends. Of course, because of the secrecy surrounding who they truly were, Harry and Hermione couldn't be the friends Draco took with him to the match. To the outside world, Harry and Hermione were school rivals of Draco's, not his closest friends. To be honest the pair had both hoped they would be able to drop their act this year, but Voldemort had insisted they maintained their cover until he'd re-built a strong following and managed to get rid of Dumbledore.

Luckily, Harry and Hermione's other 'friend', Ron Weasley, had recently written to the pair asking them to spend the last few days of the holidays at his house. In his letter he also mentioned that his father, Arthur, had somehow secured himself some tickets for the world cup final and the Weasleys wanted Harry and Hermione to join them as they attended the match.

Harry and Hermione weren't particularly interested in going to stay with Ron and his family, but they understood it was a necessary part in keeping themselves above suspicion. Besides, the chance to get to go to the world cup final was incentive enough for the pair to agree to visit the Weasleys. While for Harry part of the appeal of going to the match was the quidditch itself, for Hermione it was all about her father, Voldemort. It was during the match that Voldemort was going to make his presence felt and Hermione hadn't wanted to miss it. But now, thanks to the Weasleys, she'd be there to see the entire thing without having to go through some sort of charade of attending the match in disguise.

"You should join us," Harry called as he expertly landed his broom next to Hermione.

"No thanks," Hermione replied as Draco landed on her other side. "You know how I feel about flying."

"I've never quite understood your hatred of flying," Draco remarked. "You learnt to fly when you were young, just like us."

"Yeah, when you were little you used to love flying with Dad," Harry added. He could clearly remember his father, Severus Snape, flying with Hermione when they were younger and his aunt loving every second of it.

"Flying with someone is different to flying on your own," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Besides, I was only little when I went flying with Severus. People change as they grow up."

"Maybe you just need to fly with someone again," Draco suggested. "The right someone of course," He added with a smile. "How about trying with me?"

"You?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at her gorgeous, blond best friend. "But you fly really fast. I don't like speed."

"I promise to go slow," Draco vowed as he held out his hand to Hermione. "Please, just see if you like it."

"Go on," Harry urged when Hermione hesitated. "Don't be a chicken, Hermione."

"I am not a chicken," Hermione retorted with a snort. Coming to a decision, she took hold of Draco's hand and pulled herself to her feet. "Do not do anything dangerous," She warned the blond as she warily eyed his broomstick.

"You'll be safe, I promise," Draco replied. "Trust me, Hermione."

"I trust you," Hermione said as she let Draco help her onto his broom.

Once Draco was also settled on his broom, arms wrapped firmly around Hermione in front of him, he kicked off from the ground. As they rose into the air, Hermione couldn't help but squeeze her eyes shut. She felt perfectly safe in Draco's grasp, but she couldn't help the overwhelming feeling that she was going to fall. She didn't know where the feeling came from, it had just appeared when she started to fly on her own and it had put her off flying ever since. Of course, she could fly, she just didn't like it and never did it unless necessary.

"Relax," Draco whispered in her ear. "I won't let you fall."

"I know you won't," Hermione replied as she tentatively opened her eyes.

Trusting Draco to keep her safe, Hermione let herself enjoy the stunning scenery from the sky. The manor always looked beautiful and historic, but from the air it was breath-taking. It also reinforced just how large the property and its land was. Hermione knew everything she could see clearly belonged to the Malfoys, and she just could see the outskirts of the land bordering the vast manor and its gardens.

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" Draco said.

"It is rather nice," Hermione conceded.

"You're still not keen on flying though, are you?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

"Not really," Hermione admitted. "I'd rather have my feet safely on the ground. But it is bearable with you in control."

"Anytime you want to go for another spin, give me a shout and I'll oblige," Draco said into Hermione's ear. "I'm more than happy to take control whenever you want."

Hermione felt the heat rise in her cheeks as Draco whispered into her ear. Nestled in her best friend's embrace, she remembered Harry's words of the previous year when he'd accused her of fancying Draco. Maybe there was some truth in her nephew's words after all. Maybe she was starting to see Draco as more than a friend.

"Do you want to go down?" Draco asked.

"In a few minutes," Hermione replied, not quite ready to leave her place in Draco's embrace.

Draco smiled into Hermione's brunette curls as he continued to slowly fly them around the manor's garden. Normally flying so slow would drive him mad, but it didn't seem like a problem when he had Hermione tucked in front of him. He could quite happily fly around at the same sedate pace with Hermione for several more hours. However, despite Draco's reluctance to let Hermione go, he eventually returned to the ground.

"Well?" Harry asked with a mischievous smirk as his two best friends alighted from Draco's broom. "Did you have fun up there?"

"I did actually," Hermione answered with a smile. "I felt very safe with Draco."

"I bet he had a nice solid grip on you," Harry said. "It looked like he was holding you nice and close."

When Hermione blushed, Draco reached out and punched his friend on the arm. "Stop it you git," He hissed.

"I was just saying that you wouldn't have let her fall," Harry protested as he rubbed at his arm.

"Of course you were," Draco muttered. "Now do you want to do anything else, or should we head inside?"

"I'm going inside," Hermione announced. "I've had enough fresh air for the day."

"See what you've done," Draco scolded Harry as Hermione hurried off inside the manor. "You've embarrassed her."

"She'll be fine," Harry said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I'm sure it'll take more than a few mild remarks to embarrass Hermione."

"I hope so," Draco replied as the boys set off to also head indoors. "I don't want her to start acting different around me because you're being a git."

"If she starts acting different around you, it's got nothing to do with me," Harry protested. "It'll be because she fancies you."

"Are you still on that?" Draco asked, rolling his eyes at his friend. Harry had mentioned his theory a few times, but Draco wasn't sure that Hermione saw him as anything other than her friend.

"Of course I am," Harry replied. "It's the truth. She fancies you, and you fancy her."

"Like you fancy Daphne Greengrass?" Draco teased, laughing when he caused Harry to blush lightly.

"That's not the same," Harry muttered. "I think Daphne is pretty, but I don't really know her. Besides, nothing can ever happen between us the way things are. At least you know the truth about Hermione, so you two can act on your feelings if both of you ever stop being so stubborn."

Draco shook his head and mumbled something about Harry keeping his nose out of his affairs as the pair entered the front room. Neither boy were surprised to see Narcissa and Beth in residence, as they knew the two witches had been chatting all afternoon, but they were surprised to find Voldemort, Severus and Lucius also sitting in the front room. As far as they'd known, Lucius was at work and Voldemort and Severus had been busy planning things for the quidditch world cup.

"Have you had fun, boys?" Narcissa asked as the two teenagers settled down on the sofa next to Hermione.

"Yeah, we've been practising our quidditch manoeuvres," Harry replied. "This year, I'm not going to let Draco beat me."

"Let me? You didn't let me beat you, I won on merit," Draco snorted in reply. "I was clearly the better seeker last year, and I will be again this year."

"Actually, neither of you will be playing quidditch this year," Severus said.

"Why?" Harry demanded. "What have we done wrong?"

"Nothing," Voldemort answered with a chuckle. "It has nothing to do with either of you."

"There won't be any quidditch at Hogwarts this coming year," Severus explained. "It's been cancelled as we're hosting the Triwizard Tournament."

"What now?" Harry asked with a frown. "I've never heard of it."

"It's an old tournament between the three largest wizarding schools in Europe," Voldemort explained. "There hasn't been a tournament for over a century due to the amount of fatalities in the tournament. However, it's being made safer and it's getting revived this year and Hogwarts is hosting it."

"So what do you want us to do?" Hermione asked, wondering if the tournament was another thing they could use to help her father's bid for power.

"Nothing," Severus replied with a smile. "You're all too young to be involved in the tournament. You should just enjoy the experience."

"And it will be a perfect time to make new friends," Voldemort added. "Students from both Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be at Hogwarts for the year. Some of them might be willing supporters for our fight against Dumbledore."

"Especially those from Durmstrang," Lucius said. "The headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, is an old friend of mine, and a Death Eater. I don't think he's given up the old ways, and hopefully he'll have passed his love of the dark arts onto some of his students."

"So, you just want us to make friends and have fun?" Draco checked.

"Yes. And behave yourself," Lucius warned his son. "As head of the governors, I've been invited to be a judge for the competition, meaning I'll be around school a lot. I don't want my son causing trouble and making me look bad, is that understood?"

"Of course, Father," Draco replied with a nod. "I'll be on my best behaviour."

"And that's what worries me," Lucius muttered, knowing just how mischievous his son could be even when he was supposed to be being good.

"Do we know anything about the new Defence Professor this year?" Narcissa asked.

"No," Lucius replied with a frown. "I've been speaking to Fudge, and he assures me he's going to take a special interest this year following the previous few year's debacles."

"But you're not so sure he will," Beth concluded, reading between the lines of what Lucius was saying.

"We all know how easy Fudge is to manipulate," Lucius said with a shrug. "And Dumbledore is a master manipulator. My bet is he still gets whoever he wants as Defence Professor."

"Will that be a problem?" Narcissa asked.

"It depends who he gets for the job," Lucius answered. "Hopefully I'll find out what's going on before school starts again."

While the adults started to talk about staffing at Hogwarts, Harry, Hermione and Draco took off and headed to Draco's room. Settling down on Draco's large four poster bed, the trio began to discuss what having the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts would mean for the upcoming year. In one way it was going to be exciting, having so many new people around and such adventure taking place under their noses, but in another way it was potentially dangerous. They would have to be more careful than ever with more people around the school, and Harry and Hermione would have to be careful who they befriended. They didn't want to befriend someone and accidently turn them to the light when they would have been an asset to the dark. However, overall they decided the tournament would be great fun and they were in for another rollercoaster year at Hogwarts.


	2. Chapter 2

A couple of days before the final of the Quidditch World Cup, Hermione and Harry were in Diagon Alley to meet the Weasleys. Since the final of the quidditch was only a few days before school restarted, it was decided that Harry and Hermione would spend the last few days of the holidays with Ron's family, and they would all head off to school together. However, new supplies still needed to be bought so they'd arranged to meet up and do their shopping before they headed back to the Weasleys house.

"This is going to be so great," Ron enthused as Harry and Hermione joined up with the Weasleys and the shopping trip got underway. "I can't wait to go to the quidditch world cup."

"Me too," Harry replied with a grin. Obviously he would rather have been attending the match with the Malfoys, but even having to go with the Weasleys couldn't dampen his enthusiasm. "I can't believe your Dad got tickets for the final."

"How did he manage that by the way?" Hermione asked. "I've read about the tickets in the Daily Prophet, and they reckon they're really hard to come by."

"They are," Ron confirmed with a nod. "It's the first time in thirty years that Britain has hosted the tournament, and tickets are like gold dust. Not to mention ridiculously pricey."

"And your Dad managed to get some?" Harry asked, trying to keep the disbelieving note from his voice. How someone like Arthur Weasley had managed to secure tickets to the final was a complete mystery to him.

"Yeah, he did a favour for Ludo Bagman's brother," Ron replied. "Bagman's a former quidditch player, and he now runs the Department of Magical Games and Sports at the Ministry. Anyway, Dad helped his brother out of a sticky situation with some sort of muggle lawnmower with unusual powers. The tickets are a thank you for keeping Bagman's brother out of trouble."

"Some thank you," Hermione said quietly. Ron had already mentioned that all of his siblings would be attending the match, in fact the only Weasley not going to the quidditch was Molly. That meant Arthur had ten tickets to the final, which was one hell of a thank you in Hermione's opinion.

"So do you know anything else about our trip?" Harry asked, quickly distracting Ron from Hermione before an argument broke out.

"Dad's keeping things pretty quiet," Ron confessed. "I do know we're leaving the day before the match and spending two nights camping nearby. Apparently, the camping is all part of the experience."

"Are all your brothers camping with us?" Hermione asked, not sure how she felt about being surrounded by so many Weasleys.

"Nah, just the twins," Ron replied. "And Ginny. Percy, Bill and Charlie are just coming for the match. And what's more, we'll be watching the match from the Minister's box. We'll be the envy of everyone at school when we go back and they hear about this."

While Ron revelled in the fact they would be in the Minister's box for the duration of the match, Hermione and Harry shared an amused smirk. Lucius had received his tickets via the Minister himself, meaning the Malfoys would also be in the Minister's box. Somehow the pair suspected that having Draco and his friends also in the Minister's box would cast a shadow on the event for Ron. They were fairly sure the likes of the twins wouldn't be bothered about who else was in the box, but they knew Ron well enough to know he wouldn't be at all impressed to find Slytherins sharing the same prestigious treatment.

Even if they could, Harry and Hermione wouldn't have told Ron about Draco, meaning they had to listen to him ramble on about watching the quidditch from the Minster's box for a while longer. Finally, Ron dropped the subject of the world cup as they continued to grab their school things.

"I wonder who'll be teaching Defence this year," Ron mused as they got their books from Flourish and Blotts. "Do you think Dumbledore will still be doing it?"

"I doubt it," Hermione replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "He was just filling in last year, I can't see him taking the job permanently."

"That's a shame, I thought he was a good professor," Ron said.

"He was very biased though," Hermione argued. "Gryffindors were clearly his favourite."

"And Slytherins are clearly Snape's favourites," Ron retorted. "Let's face it, most Professors favour their former house."

"Yes, but as Headmaster, Dumbledore shouldn't be favouring anyone," Hermione replied.

"I guess not," Ron conceded. "But I still thought he was a good teacher. I bet we could have learnt a lot from him."

"Hopefully we'll learn a lot from our new Professor," Harry said hopefully.

"We better," Hermione replied. "Next year if our first year with serious exams, and I feel as though we're so far behind with Defence against the Dark Arts. Half the stuff I've read about in textbooks, we've never even touched upon in class."

"I have to admit Defence hasn't been the exciting class I hoped for," Harry said. "Quirrell and Lockhart were completely useless, and while Lupin was pretty good, he didn't exactly stick around and offer stability."

"Speaking of Lupin, have you heard from his four legged friend?" Ron asked, speaking in code as he didn't know who might be around to overhear them. Technically, Sirius was still a wanted man, and although the search for him had moved abroad, it wouldn't be good if anyone found out they were in contact with a wanted fugitive.

"Yeah," Harry replied with a nod. "I've had a few letters from Padfoot."

"Padfoot?" Ron frowned at the name, wondering where Harry had gotten it from.

"Old school nickname," Harry supplied. "The whole group had them. Padfoot told me about it in one of his letters. He suggested we use it in order to avoid saying his name."

"I guess Padfoot's better than Snuffles or something stupid like that," Ron agreed. "Did he mention what the other nicknames were?"

"Moony and Prongs," Harry answered. "He didn't delve into the rat's nickname."

"I should think not, the less we think about him the better," Ron said. "So how is Padfoot?"

"Enjoying the sun somewhere warm," Harry said as they exited the bookstore. "Okay, where next?"

"I want some cat treats for Crookshanks," Hermione said. Molly had offered to take Harry and Hermione's belongings back to their house while they shopped, including Crookshanks and Harry's owl, Hedwig. "I don't want him running off while we're staying at the Weasleys."

"Yeah, I could pick up some owl treats as well," Harry said. "That's a good idea, Hermione."

"It is," Ron agreed as they headed over to the pet store. "I can get some treats for Pig."

"Pig?" Hermione questioned with an amused snort. "You named that cute little owl, Pig?"

"No, Ginny thought it would be amusing to call it Pigwidgeon," Ron snarled. "Now the little blighter thinks that's its name and it won't answer to anything else. I've settled on Pig for short as it's not so stupid."

"Why did Ginny name your owl?" Harry asked, shaking his head at the thought of Ron's younger sister. Sometimes he really wished they'd been able to leave her to die down in the Chamber at the end of second year.

"Because she's an annoying little brat," Ron replied.

Harry and Hermione didn't disagree as they grabbed what they wanted in the pet store and headed off to finish their shopping. When they were done, they headed off to meet up with Ginny and the twins. They found the twins and Ginny standing outside of an empty shop, peering into the window, while Ginny stood nearby looking bored.

"What's going on?" Ron asked.

"The twins are living in a fantasy world," Ginny muttered.

"We are not," Fred protested.

"We're just planning for the future," George added.

"By staring into a deserted shop?" Ron queried.

"We're just thinking about what we could do with premises like these," Fred explained.

"Why do you want a shop?" Harry asked in confusion.

"To set up our own joke business," George answered. "Fred and I have big plans. We're going to take Weasleys Wizard Wheezes into the public eye."

"Weasleys Wizard Wheezes?" Hermione questioned. She knew the twins were talented and like to invent stuff, but she had no idea they'd named their products.

"We're going to be launching it this year at school," Fred explained. "We figure if we develop products and sell them over the next couple of years, we'd have a decent stash of money when we finish school next year."

"We're then going to use the money to set up our own joke shop," George continued.

"That's really rather ingenious," Hermione replied. She was surprised by how much foresight the twins were displaying, instead of waiting until they'd finished school to make plans, they'd started now to ensure they would work.

"Thank you," George said, grinning at Hermione.

"We're not just pretty faces, we've got brains as well," Fred said, giving Hermione a dazzling grin like his twin.

"It's all wishful thinking," Ginny scoffed. "You two will never own a shop of your own."

"I think it's a brilliant idea," Harry said, annoyed at Ginny's attitude. "I'm sure the pair of you will create an amazing joke shop. I can't wait to visit it when you open up."

"Thank you, Harry," George said, throwing Ginny an unimpressed glare. "It's nice that some people believe in us, even if our family don't."

"I didn't say that," Ginny said as she hastily tried to backtrack so she could agree with Harry. "I just think you should be cautious. Even the best laid plans don't always work out."

Ginny's backtracking did little to pacify the twins, and they were both distinctly frosty with her as they led the way to The Leaky Cauldron, where Molly had arrived to escort them home. Once Molly was satisfied that everyone had everything, she ushered them over to the fires so they could floo home. Obviously Harry and Hermione had both used the floo network before, but since the Weasleys didn't know about their real identities, Molly took a few minutes to explain how it worked.

"Don't forget to pronounce your destination clearly," Molly ordered. "Our house is called The Burrow. You should arrive in the front room."

The twins and Ron went through the floo network first, before Molly passed the pot of floo powder to Harry. Grabbing some powder, Harry stepped into the flames and disappeared to the Weasleys house. Hermione followed close behind, and the pair got their first look at where Ron and his family lived. The front room was cramped and furnished with an eclectic style of furnishings. The room wasn't to either Harry or Hermione's tastes, but it seemed habitable enough.

"I'll show you my room, Harry," Ron declared as his mother and sister arrived home behind his two friends. "Hermione, you'll be sharing with Ginny."

"It'll be great, I've always wanted a sister to share a room with," Ginny enthused as she linked her arm with Hermione's.

"Dinner will be at seven," Molly called as she headed into the kitchen.

Harry and Hermione exchanged slightly panicked looks as they were left in the clutches of the two youngest Weasley siblings. The pair were left with little choice but to follow the redheaded duo, as they led the way up the winding staircase. On each floor, they paused to point out various people's rooms and the bathroom.

"Here's my room," Ginny announced, several floors later, as she flung open a door to reveal a very pink, girly room.

"It's lovely, Ginny," Hermione said, hiding the wince that threatened to emerge as she took in the room she would be staying in for the next few days.

"And my room is just above here," Ron said, as he led the way towards even more steps.

"Just how high is this place?" Harry asked as he followed Ron up the remaining few stairs and into a small room decorated from head to toe in Chudley Cannons orange.

"You should see it from the outside, its brill," Ginny said with a smile. She and Hermione had followed the boys so that Hermione would know where to find her friends if they were in Ron's room.

After making sure all their luggage had arrived safely, and placing their new purchases with their things, Harry and Hermione followed Ron and Ginny outside where they got their first look at The Burrow. The house was most definitely the strangest place either one of them had set eyes on. It rose several stories into the air, and it was so crooked that the only explanation for the house still standing was magic.

"Isn't it great?" Ginny gushed. "Our house is so unique."

"Yes, it is," Hermione agreed. She thought it was possibly so unique because not many people in their right mind would want to live in such a bizarre house.

While they were outside, Ron and Ginny showed Harry and Hermione around the garden and the area nearby. While the Weasleys house might not have been to Harry and Hermione's liking, they had no problem with the area the family lived in. The Weasleys lived in the middle of the countryside, and the views around the house were stunning. There was a nearby lake they could visit, and both Harry and Hermione hoped they spent the majority of their time outdoors.

After spending the rest of the afternoon outside, the foursome headed indoors for dinner. Both Hermione and Harry had to admit that Molly knew how to cook. While the food wasn't as fancy as what they received at home and at the Malfoys, it was delicious and they enjoyed every bite. Between the food and the scenery, their trip might not be as terrible as they'd feared. And of course they still had the Quidditch World Cup to look forward to and Voldemort making his presence felt in the wizarding world. Now that was going to be fun and neither Harry nor Hermione could wait.


	3. Chapter 3

Despite the fact he was attending the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys rather than the Malfoys, it still wasn't enough to dampen Harry's enthusiasm for the event. No matter who he was with, he was attending the World Cup, and Harry was planning on enjoying every second of it.

The day before the final, Molly made everyone a hearty breakfast before they left for the World Cup. Ron had already mentioned his brothers would be showing up later, so for the time being it was just Harry, Ron and Hermione along with Ginny and the twins setting off with Arthur. The group had walked for a couple of hours, until they reached Stoatshead Hill, where they joined up with Cedric Diggory and his father, Amos. Harry knew Cedric from playing against him in quidditch matches, while the twins were about the same age as the Hufflepuff seeker.

"Isn't he handsome," Ginny whispered to Hermione, openly eying Cedric as he walked ahead chatting with the twins.

Hermione rolled her eyes in response to Ginny. Despite the fact the redheaded witch was a year younger than her, she seemed obsessed with boys. First she'd developed an obsession with Harry before even meeting him, then she began crushing on Draco after he saved her life, and now she was eying up a boy far too old to even give her a second glance.

Ginny continued to drool over Cedric as the group climbed the hill. Near the top of the hill, Arthur and Amos stopped beside an old boot. Slowly the rest of the group ground to a halt, puzzled as to why they'd abruptly stopped in the middle of nowhere.

"What now?" Ginny asked.

"Grab hold of the boot and don't let go until I say so," Arthur ordered.

As everyone grabbed a piece of the boot, Harry and Hermione exchanged a grimace. They were guessing the boot was a port key, and neither of them particularly liked travelling by port key. They'd only travelled by port key a few times when they were younger, and it really hadn't been a pleasant experience.

"Everyone hold tight," Arthur called as the boot they were holding onto began to light up.

Second later the group were whisked away into a swirling tornado like vortex. Once they were safely in the vortex, Arthur told everyone to let go of the boot. As soon as they did, gravity took over and they went plummeting to the ground. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and the twins all ended up collapsed on the ground, while Arthur, Amos and Cedric landed much more smoothly.

"That was fun," Fred said with a laugh as he and George jumped to their feet.

"Fun wouldn't be what I called it," Ron muttered as everyone else got up.

"Don't worry, using port keys just takes practice," Cedric said with a smile.

"I'm not sure I want to practice with more port keys," Ron remarked.

Arthur and Amos chuckled at the lack of enthusiasm for port keys, before saying their goodbyes. The Diggorys headed off in one direction, while Arthur led the group in the opposite direction. As they went, he explained that the Diggorys were camping in another field to what they were.

Within minutes the field they would be camping in came into view, and everyone was stunned by how packed it was. There were tents of all sizes as far as the eye could see, and dozens of witches and wizards milling around. As they made their way to where Arthur said there tent would be, they spotted several people they went to school with. Harry and Hermione weren't sure if they all had tickets for the match the following day, or if they were just enjoying the atmosphere around the event.

"Where is the match being held?" Hermione asked, seeing no sign of the stadium in which the final would be held.

"Just over the hill," Arthur said, pointing to a nearby hill. "Once we're settled in, we can have a walk over and explore. There'll be some shops there, and we can buy some supplies for tomorrow."

With plans in place for later that day, Arthur led them over to where a blue tent stood amidst all the chaos. Unlike some of the tents that was pretty big, the tent they were going to be using seemed rather standard size. How it was going to fit seven people, Harry and Hermione had no idea.

"This is it," Arthur declared happily. "Hop in and get settled."

Not really looking forward to being squashed in a tent with so many Weasleys, Harry and Hermione entered the tent and stopped in surprise. Inside the tent it was ten times bigger, and there was more than enough room for everyone. There was a small kitchen area of the tent, and two bedroom areas that could be separated off from privacy.

"Ginny, Hermione, you've got the smaller room," Arthur said. "Boys, you're all sharing the second room."

While Hermione headed off to drop her bag into the room she was going to be sharing with Ginny, Harry headed into the boys bedroom. Instead of sleeping bags, which is what he'd expected to find, Harry found two sets of bunk beds. Dropping his bag onto one of the bottom bunks, he headed into the kitchen to join the others who were making a start on whipping up something for lunch.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Harry and Hermione had been worried that their time at the camp site would be boring, but before they knew it they were preparing to head over to the quidditch stadium for the final. The previous afternoon, they'd explored the little tents housing shops alongside the stadium and bought a few bits and pieces for the match. They'd then spent the rest of their time hanging around the camp site, mingling with the other spectators and catching up with an abundant amount of Hogwarts students.

"You know I haven't seen any Slytherins around," Ron remarked as the group headed to the stadium, where they were going to meet up with Ron's three older brothers.

"I can't really see the likes of Malfoy camping, can you?" Harry asked with a chuckle. Even though the tent they were using was pretty spacious, he still knew his best friend would be unimpressed with the idea of sleeping outdoors.

"I guess not," Ron replied, laughing along with Harry. "I'm just grateful we haven't ran into anyone like that. It's nice that our fun hasn't been spoilt."

Hermione had to chuckle to herself, knowing Ron's good mood was about to evaporate when they reached the stadium. They may have been Slytherin free so far, but all that was about to change.

Outside the stadium, the group met up with Ron's older brothers, Bill, Charlie and Percy. Obviously Harry and Hermione knew Percy from school, and they'd met Charlie back in first year when he'd picked up Norbert from Hagrid, but it was their first time meeting Ron's oldest brother, Bill. Luckily, Bill was every bit as friendly as Charlie and the twins, who were Harry and Hermione's favourite Weasleys.

"How's Norbert?" Harry asked Charlie as the group joined the queue entering the stadium.

"You mean Norberta," Charlie replied with a laugh.

"Norberta? Norbert was a girl?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah," Charlie answered with a nod. "It's often hard to tell with dragons when they're really young, but as she's started to grow it's obvious she's a female."

"I read that female dragons are more aggressive," Hermione said. She quite like the idea that female dragons were more dangerous than male dragons as she often thought females in general were overlooked in favour of males.

"They are," Charlie confirmed. "All dragons can be aggressive, but the females tend to be that bit more ferocious. Especially when they're protecting their young. You don't want to get in between a dragon and its eggs, believe me."

"Don't worry, it's not something any of us are planning on doing," Harry laughed.

Finally the group reached the Minister's box, where they would be sitting for the duration of the match. Before they entered, Arthur gave everyone a warning to behave, and he made everyone promise not to cause trouble, before leading the way into the box.

"Ah, Arthur, how nice to see you," Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, greeted the head of the Weasley family. "Your seats are all marked for your group. Enjoy the match."

Stepping aside, Fudge turned to greet someone else as Arthur led his group into the box. The Minister's box was a grand affair, with dozens of seats spread out over several rows. There was going to be ample space to sit back and enjoy the game, plus the views were spectacular.

"Here we are," Arthur called, ushering the group into seats near the front of the box.

As they settled down in their seats, Hermione got her eye on a house elf sitting in the corner of the box. The elf in question was sitting curled up on her chair, her eyes tightly shut, as she mumbled to herself. Worried about the elf, Hermione couldn't help but go across and say hello.

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked gently. "My name's Hermione. What's yours?"

"Winky, Miss," The elf squeaked.

"Hello Winky, are you okay?"

"Winky doesn't like heights, Miss," The elf replied, briefly opening her eyes and shutting them again.

"Then why are you up here in one of the high boxes?" Hermione asked.

"I'm keeping Mr Crouch's seat," Winky replied.

"Hermione, leave that elf alone," Percy hissed, suddenly appearing at Hermione's side.

"I'm just checking she's okay. The poor thing is terrified of heights, and her master has just left her up here by herself."

"What Mr Crouch does with his elf is his own affair," Percy replied sternly. "It's not your place to judge such a fine man."

"I can judge whoever I like," Hermione replied, refusing to be intimidated by a wimp like Percy Weasley. "I say this Mr Crouch is wrong leaving poor Winky all by herself when she doesn't like heights. It's cruel, and it shouldn't be allowed."

"It's got nothing to do with you," Percy repeated. "Now leave the elf alone, and sit back down."

Glaring at Percy, Hermione told Winky to just call if she needed anything before she returned to her seat.

"Ignore Percy," Ron whispered as Hermione sat down beside him. "Crouch is his boss, and he thinks the sun shines out of him. I don't know why, he can't even remember Percy's name. He keeps calling him Weatherby."

"I can think of a few things to call your brother," Hermione muttered menacingly as she looked back over at poor Winky and shook her head at the sight of the clearly terrified elf.

Hermione kept her eye on Winky as the box continued to fill up. Arthur kept jumping up to greet various people, while everyone else discussed the upcoming match. Hermione had just opened her programme to check out the two teams who would be competing for the trophy when she heard a familiar laugh behind her. Harry and Ron had also heard the laugh as when she looked up, they were both looking over their shoulders as the Malfoys entered the box, accompanied by Blaise and Theo.

"Great," Ron muttered. "What are they doing here?"

"Oh look, Weasleys," Theo said, grimacing at the sight of the redheads dominating the front of the box.

"And Potter and Granger," Blaise added with a sigh.

"Boys behave," Narcissa called.

"Yeah, behave," Ron mocked the trio. "Listen to Malfoy's Mummy and be good little boys."

"Ronald, that is enough," Arthur snapped, lightly hitting his son on the top of his head. "Turn back around and watch the match."

"Yeah, Ronald, listen to Daddy," Draco teased with a laugh as he headed off to his seat with Blaise and Theo in tow.

"I can't believe that lot are here," Ron grumbled. "Trust Malfoy's father to have tickets for the Minister's box. Stuck up gits."

"Leave them alone, Ron," Ginny scolded from where she'd settled herself beside Harry. "They're just here to watch the match."

"Bloody hell, do you still fancy Malfoy?" Ron asked in disgust. "I thought you'd outgrown that. We've been over this before, he didn't help rescue you because he's a good person. He's just an interfering git."

"You don't know his reasons for helping to save my life," Ginny shot back. "I think there's more to Draco than meets the eye."

"I don't want to hear anything else about Malfoy," Ron spat. "Let's concentrate on the match. It's starts in under half an hour."

Despite Ron's words, Hermione and Harry didn't think he would be able to forget about Draco for long. After all, the Malfoys were sitting almost opposite them, and it was impossible to ignore them. Especially as the Minister for Magic had settled next to Lucius and the pair were talking rather loudly about the upcoming year at Hogwarts.

"He just better be more competent than the last three, Cornelius," Lucius remarked. "I still say, the Ministry should have appointed a new Professor."

"We were going to," Fudge replied. "But when Dumbledore informed us of his choice, we didn't have any complaints. After all, who's better qualified to teach Defence against the Dark Arts than a former Auror?"

"Did he say former Auror?" Ron whispered, leaning over Hermione to speak to Harry. Harry nodded as the trio openly listened to the rest of the conversation.

"Maybe," Lucius responded, sounding anything but convinced the appointment was the right one. "But is Alastor Moody really the best man for the job? The man is unstable."

"Mad-Eye Moody," Ron whispered in awe as Fudge started trying to convince Lucius the new Professor would work out just fine.

"Who's Mad-Eye Moody?" Hermione asked. Of course she'd heard of Alastor Moody, and she was a bit concerned to have such a renowned Auror teaching at Hogwarts.

"An ex Auror," Ron replied. "In his day, he caught more Death Eaters than anybody. Half the cells in Azkaban are occupied because of him. However, he's said to be a bit mad these days."

"Great, a mad Professor. That's just what we want," Harry muttered.

"I bet he's pretty cool," Ron enthused. "Just think of all the things he can teach us. He knows so much."

Harry nodded, conceding Ron had a point. Like Hermione, he wasn't over keen on the idea of such a good Auror being present at Hogwarts, but maybe there would be some advantages to the situation. Maybe they could use what he taught them to ensure they were never caught. Moody might just give them more information than he intended to, especially considering he would have no idea he was dealing with the daughter and grandson of The Dark Lord.


	4. Chapter 4

As Draco prepared to watch the quidditch, he couldn't help but wish it was Harry and Hermione sitting on either side of him. He didn't mind that Blaise and Theo were with him, in fact the trio had been having a great time, but part of him wanted to be enjoying such a momentous occasion with his best friends. Instead they were sitting a few seats away, surrounded by Weasleys.

Looking over to where his best friends were sitting, Draco couldn't help but chuckle quietly when he spotted the Weasley girl had settled herself next to Harry. Even watching them for a few minutes, he saw enough to know she was going to spend the rest of the match pawing over Harry excessively. Feeling sorry for his best friend, Draco turned his attention to Hermione and frowned when he spotted she was sitting next to Weasley. Weasley wasn't been as obvious as his sister over his fawning, but Draco still didn't like how close he was to Hermione. Every time the redhead spoke to Hermione he moved subtly closer to her, and Draco was left with an overwhelming feeling of jealousy. Maybe Harry was onto something after all, maybe he was beginning to think of Hermione as more than his best friend.

Tearing his eyes way from his friends before anyone noticed, Draco turned his attention back to Blaise and Theo. The pair were currently arguing over which team to support in the upcoming match. They'd both agreed Ireland were the better all-round team, but Bulgaria had the superstar player in their team in the form of Viktor Krum. Therefore, they were torn over whether to support the best team, or the team with the best player.

"What do you think Draco?" Theo asked. "Do we go Ireland or Bulgaria?"

"I reckon Ireland will win, and it's always good to support the winners," Draco mused. "But Krum is spectacular. He'll likely catch the snitch, and let's be honest that's more impressive than winning the match."

"So which is it?" Blaise asked, frowning as he they hadn't got a straight answer from Draco. "Do we pick one team, or support both."

"No way," Theo retorted with a shake of his head. "I'm not wearing two teams' colours like a loser," He added loudly for the sake of the nearby Weasleys. Nearly all of them were wearing both Irish and Bulgarian colours.

Draco and Blaise both chuckled when a few of the Weasleys turned round and gave them dirty looks.

"Don't worry Theo, we aren't going to be sad enough to support both teams," Draco answered loudly. "I say catching the snitch is more important that scoring goals, so we're going to support Bulgaria. I doubt they'll win the match, but they'll play the more exciting quidditch."

With a team settled on the three boys pulled on their Bulgarian scarves. No sooner had they made their final decision on who to support, than Lucius leant over and informed them things were about to get under way. With a buzz of excitement starting to fill the box, Draco and his friends sat back and watched as Fudge got to his feet and began to address the crowds.

Before the match could begin, there was the pre-match celebrations to take place. Each of the teams put on a brief show in an attempt to woo the crowds onto their side as the teams made their first appearance. The Irish went first, with a dazzling display of fireworks and dancing leprechauns. However, when the Bulgarians took their turn, they used Veelas to grab the wizards' attentions and to top it all off, they made a massive production of Krum entering the playing field. By the time the two teams lined up to begin the match, the crowd were firmly with the Bulgarians.

As the match got underway, Draco forgot all about the fact his best friends were sitting nearby as he lost himself in the match. He always loved watching live quidditch, but he'd never seen such an adrenalin filled match before. The Irish players were tearing all over the pitch, seemingly scoring goals at will, while Viktor Krum swept around the stadium pulling off some of the most audacious moves a seeker could do.

"This is the best match, I've ever seen," Theo yelled loudly as the stadium erupted when Ireland scored yet again. "Look at Krum go, he's amazing."

"Steady on Theo," Blaise laughed. "You don't need to go on about your crush quite so much."

"Shut up," Theo retorted, glaring over at Blaise.

"Both of you shut up and watch," Draco said, gasping as Krum suddenly went soaring towards the ground.

The crowd watched with baited breath as Krum led the Irish seeker down towards the ground and pulled up just before he hit the turf. Unfortunately, the Irish seeker wasn't as quick and crashed into the ground. As the Irish seeker got back up and remounted his broom, Krum was off searching for the snitch again, leaving the crowd to discuss his brilliant tactics.

"You need to try some of this stuff when we get back to school," Blaise said to Draco as they watched Krum show off his entire repertoire of tricks.

Draco nodded, but didn't bother replying as he knew there would be no quidditch in the coming year. However, his friends didn't know that, and Lucius had told him not to let anyone know what he knew. There'd still been no official announcement about the Triwizard Tournament and it wouldn't look good if Draco knew all about it when no-one else did.

A couple of hours later, Ireland had taken a decisive lead in the match. If Bulgaria wanted to win the world cup, they would have to score a few more gaols before Krum caught the snitch. However, either the message hadn't been passed to Krum, or the team didn't think they could cut the deficit, as shortly after Ireland had established a healthy lead it became obvious Krum had the snitch in his sights. In what would always be remembered as a spectacular end to the world cup, Krum caught the snitch in one hand while almost hanging upside down on his broom.

The catching of the snitch ended the match, and both sets of supporters burst into cheers as they celebrated the end of what was a very entertaining final match of the tournament. Obviously the Irish supporters were cheering their victory, but the Bulgarian supporters were cheering on Krum. Ireland may have won the world cup, but the undisputed star of the show was Viktor Krum.

The celebrations were also going on in the Minister's box, but they were quickly doused when Fudge announced the presentation would soon be taking place. As the world cup trophy was brought up into the box, everyone in the box had to relocate to the sides of the box. Draco and his friends ended up on the opposite side of the box to Harry, Hermione and the Weasleys, but Draco still managed to exchange quick smiles with his two best friends.

As they waited for the presentation to begin, Draco subtly watched his friends and noticed Hermione was glaring at something in the front corner of the box. Turning round to see what she was looking at, he found a small elf sitting huddled up on one of the seats. It was clear to see the elf was terrified of something, and it also looked to be completely alone. Making a mental note to ask Hermione what her problem was with the elf, he turned his attention back to Fudge as the Minister began his presentation of the trophy.

As the losing team the Bulgarians entered the box first, and accepted runner-up medals from Fudge. Draco was rather in awe when Viktor Krum walked past him, but he at least kept a dignified look on his face, unlike Weasley who was staring open mouthed at the Bulgarian Seeker. Shaking his head at how pathetic Wesley was, Draco watched the rest of the presentation. After the Bulgarians came the Irish, and once they had the trophy in their hands, the stadium erupted into more cheers.

Draco and his friends were clapping and cheering along with everyone else when suddenly all the lights in the stadium went out. Darkness falling brought an immediate end to the cheering, and instead panic could be heard spreading around the stadium. Even in the minister's box, Draco could hear the panic. Fudge was clearly clueless as to what was happening, and he heard a girlish whimper from across the box that he thought came from the Weasley girl.

"There's no need to panic," A booming voice suddenly called as a few lights began to reignite around the stadium.

Draco was lucky enough to be standing near enough to the front of the box, so he had a perfect view of Voldemort striding out onto the pitch below them. At his side were two robed and masked Death Eaters, who Draco knew to be Severus and Beth. Apart from his family no-one else knew Voldemort was back, so he didn't have an army of followers with him. However, Draco suspected that if he snapped his fingers the stadium would be surrounded by Death Eaters in an instant.

"Who's that?" Draco heard Ginny ask as the Weasleys peered down onto the pitch from the other side of the box.

"It can't be," Arthur whispered, almost to himself.

"I just want to congratulate Ireland on a fine victory," Voldemort announced loudly as the whispers around the stadium began to grow as people realised just who was speaking. "And I admit, I'm gate-crashing their moment, but I thought it was time for everyone to know that The Dark Lord has returned."

Pulling out his wand with a flourish, Voldemort cast a spell and a green mist flew from his wand. Seconds later, The Dark Mark hung in the air above the stadium. The sight of the mark caused immediate panic, and Draco could hear the screams as people tried to flee from the stadium. Looking back down on the pitch, Draco saw Voldemort looking around in satisfaction before he turned and left with Beth and Severus at his side.

"Everyone remain calm," Fudge called as he tried to regain control of the situation.

Unfortunately, for Fudge it was too late. Now everyone knew Voldemort was back, they couldn't get away from the place quick enough. Even the Weasleys were anxious to be gone. Draco watched as Arthur Weasley bundled his daughter over to his two eldest sons, and told them to get her back home immediately. He then sent the twins and the pompous ex-Head Boy off together, while he took care of Harry, Hermione and his youngest son.

"Look at them scurrying like rats," Theo laughed as the Weasleys departed the box at top speed.

"Pathetic," Blaise agreed.

"Well boys, I think it's time we went home," Narcissa said calmly. While everyone around them was panicked, Narcissa looked as though nothing untoward had just happened.

"But we'll miss all the fun," Blaise protested.

"The only thing you'll miss is people running around like headless chickens," Lucius replied.

"But what if the Dark Lord has something else planned?" Theo questioned. "We don't want to miss it."

"Nothing else is going to happen," Lucius said confidently. "I promise you, anything that happens will be the result of foolish idiots overreacting."

Even though Blaise and Theo didn't particularly want to leave, they had no choice but to go with the Malfoys. Besides, if Lucius said nothing else was going to happen with the Dark Lord, he would be right. It was obvious to both boys that Draco's father hadn't been surprised by the evening's turn of events. He'd known what was going to happen, and as such he would be right if he said nothing else would happen.

Of course, Lucius was right and there was no further appearance by Voldemort or his followers. That wasn't to say that nothing else happened though. In their desperate attempt to get away from the quidditch stadium, the crowds turned on one another. In the ensuing riot, several people were injured as the stadium and the nearby camp sites were destroyed.

The next morning the papers were full of what had happened at the Quidditch World Cup. Pictures of the Dark Mark graced the front cover of every publication, and they all reported on Voldemort's dramatic return. Of course, no-one knew the details of his return, or where he'd been all these years. But there was one thing they did all know, The Dark Lord was back and nothing would ever be the same again.


	5. Chapter 5

After the World Cup, Harry and Hermione half wished they were back home to celebrate with their family following Voldemort's triumphant return. However, they did admit they were in the perfect place to witness the panic his return had created. The panic first set in at the quidditch match itself. Arthur couldn't wait to whisk them all away from the stadium, which he achieved in record time. Harry and Hermione were slightly put out to have missed all the action, but they certainly heard about it after the event.

In the days following Voldemort's return, it was all the papers reported on. There was extensive reports on the riots at the match, although no-one could quite agree who was to blame for them. Several reports suggested they were just a result of people panicking in the light of Voldemort's return, however there were reports that Death Eaters had been spotted around the stadium and they were responsible for the riots. Either way, the riots were vicious and had claimed a few lives, as well as putting dozens of people in hospital.

On a personal front, Harry and Hermione had witnessed how the Weasleys and those around them had reacted to the news. Molly had gone into complete meltdown, and refused to let any of her children leave the house. The only people who could get away with leaving The Burrow were Percy, Bill and Charlie, all of whom were adults and had jobs to get to. Although, both Bill and Charlie extended their leave to stick around for a while until they knew what was happening with Voldemort.

Molly had remained in a panic for a few days, until one day Arthur came home from work and handed her a note from Dumbledore. The note seemed to calm Molly, and when Ron asked her about it, she informed them that Dumbledore was reforming The Order of the Phoenix. Despite knowing what the Order was, Harry and Hermione played dumb and had the entire thing explained for them by the Weasleys. The Weasleys happily explained that the Order was a group of witches and wizards dedicated to fighting Voldemort and his forces.

"Do we get to be part of the Order?" Ron asked excitedly.

"I don't think so," Arthur replied, shaking his head at his youngest son. "You're all too young at the minute. Maybe in a year or so."

"Let's hope all this is over in a year or so," Molly muttered. The thought of another long, drawn out war wasn't appealing in the slightest.

Unfortunately, the Weasleys stuck to their guns regarding the Order, and when Molly and Arthur headed off to meetings, none of the youngsters were allowed to go. Whenever there was a meeting, either Bill, Charlie or Percy would stay behind. Of course, Percy wouldn't tell them anything, but Bill and Charlie told them bits and pieces and they knew the Order consisted of nearly all the Professors from Hogwarts and a few other people, some of whom were part of the Order years ago, and some of whom were newcomers.

By the time September the first rolled around, Bill and Charlie had both returned to their lives abroad and the Order was flourishing. No more had been heard from Voldemort, but there was a serious air of trepidation floating around on Platform Nine and Three Quarters as the Hogwarts Express prepared to depart.

"I should have known that lot wouldn't be worried," Ron grumbled, glaring over to where several Slytherins had gathered.

Draco, was of course in the centre of the group, and all his friends were with him. The parents had also gathered, and were chatting merrily as their children prepared to leave for another year at Hogwarts. The lack of worry was clear for all to see, and it was clear the Slytherins and their parents weren't concerned that the darkest wizard of all time was back.

"I bet Malfoy's parents were among those Death Eaters terrorising the crowds after the match," Ron continued as he boarded the train with Harry, Hermione and Ginny.

"It was never proven Death Eaters were even present in events after the match," Hermione argued. She and Harry knew enough about Voldemort's plan to know all he'd planned was to make his presence known, he hadn't planned any sort of attack.

"Besides, Malfoy's parents were in the Minister's box," Harry said. "They couldn't have been involved in the fighting afterwards."

"It went on for hours," Ron argued. "They could have gotten involved once they left the stadium. You won't convince me, Malfoy's parents didn't know what was happening and didn't love every second of it. They're both evil, and Malfoy is exactly the same."

"You can't throw around wild accusations like that," Ginny hissed at her brother. "Draco isn't evil, he's just a boy. You're the wicked one spreading these lies, and one day you're going to regret it."

Giving Ron one final glare, Ginny turned on her heel and strode down the corridor away from them. Ron gazed after his sister in shock for a few seconds, before silently turning around and entering an empty compartment. Harry and Hermione followed Ron into the compartment, with Harry struggling to hide his smile. He'd been dreading another journey with Ginny hanging all over him, but luckily her anger at Ron had solved his problem. Now he could sit back, relax and enjoy the trip up to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

By the time he was settled in the Great Hall for the welcoming feast, Draco was sick to death of Pansy Parkinson. Ever since they'd met up at the train station, she'd been overly affectionate towards him. She'd managed to settle herself beside him on the train, and she'd then proceeded to spend the entire journey coming up with reason to have her hands all over him. Draco was used to her being slightly affectionate with him, but things had increased significantly and he didn't know why. Luckily, for the feast he'd managed to sit himself in between Blaise and Theo and Pansy was stuck sitting opposite him. Although even then, she continued to focus all her attention on him.

"Where's this new Professor?" Theo asked, craning his neck to see the Professors table.

There was the usual suspects at the table, including Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was still teaching Care of Magical Creatures. However, the space for the Defence Professor was empty.

"Maybe he got held up," Blaise suggested with a shrug. "There's a hell of a storm getting up out there."

"Shouldn't he have been here hours ago?" Theo questioned. "Don't the staff have to prepare or something?"

"From what I can gather about Moody, he doesn't do conventional," Draco replied. Lucius had told him everything he knew about Mad-Eye Moody, and that included a warning to be very careful around the former Auror. He knew Harry and Hermione would have received the same warning if they'd been around, but they weren't and it was left to Severus to catch them and pass the message along.

"Let's look on the bright side, he can't be worse than the rubbish Professors we've already had," Blaise remarked quietly as the doors opened and McGonagall led the first years into the Great Hall.

"Let's reserve judgment, shall we," Draco muttered, before the group turned their attention to the sorting.

Once the sorting was complete, Dumbledore rose to his feet to begin his start of term speech. He'd barely gotten through his obligatory welcomes, when the enchanted ceiling overhead crackled with lightening and the light in the room flickered as a burst of thunder sounded. When it happened the second time, a few people cried out in worry as the ceiling never normally reacted in such a violent way. The third crack of thunder corresponded with the doors to the Great Hall slamming open and a bolt of lightning from the newcomer's wand halted the ceilings storm.

Everyone's attention turned to the doors as a wizard with a false eye and a wooden leg strode into the room. Slamming the doors behind him, Moody began to make his way towards the Professors table. As he did his false eye roamed over all the students, and Draco felt a chill run down his spine when it seemed to focus on him.

"Alastor," Dumbledore greeted loudly. "It's good to see you."

"Sorry I'm late," Moody replied, although he offered no explanation for his tardiness as he settled down in his seat and promptly pulled a hip flask from his pocket and took a large swig.

"I've got an uncle that does that," Theo whispered as Dumbledore restarted his speech.

"What? Watches you with a false eye?" Blaise asked with a shudder. "That things creepy."

"No, drinks from a hipflask," Theo said with a tut. "He can't go more than five minutes without a drink of his precious firewhisky."

"Great, just what we need an alcoholic Professor," Blaise grumbled with a roll of his eyes as they turned their attention back to Dumbledore.

Finally Dumbledore finished his normal speech, and just when most people thought he was finished, he announced he another special announcement to make. Dumbledore then proceeded to announce that Hogwarts was hosting the Triwizard Tournament.

"To tell you more about the tournament, I give you the Head of International Co-Operation, Bartemius Crouch."

There was a smattering of applause around the room as a thin wizard stepped from the shadows behind the Professors table and took up residence at the podium Dumbledore always used for his speeches.

"The Triwizard Tournament is a contest between three schools, where an overall champion will be crowned. Each school will have one champion, and that person's magical ability will be severely tested. Entering the tournament is not to be taken lightly and I urge anyone who wishes to do so, to do it after much deliberation. Once you're chosen for the tournament, there's no backing down. There will be an age restriction on the tournament, and no-one under the age of seventeen may enter."

Crouch's last sentence was met by a barrel of shouts and protests, the loudest of which came from the Weasley twins. A few of the Slytherins were also making their mouths go, although Draco suspected it was just for show. He knew for a fact a lot of people who were protesting wouldn't dream of entering such a dangerous tournament.

"Quiet!" Dumbledore bellowed, bringing the room back into order. "Mr Crouch is right, this is a dangerous tournament and only the best and brightest can triumph. Tomorrow evening we will be joined by the other two schools, and the tournament will be officially opened. Until then, enjoy the feast."

Dumbledore clapped his hands once, and the food appeared in the tables. Instantly the students dug into the feats while Dumbledore sorted out his guest with an extra chair at the Professors table. Of course, all anyone could talk about was the Triwizard Tournament. Rumours started flying about which students would put their names forward for the tournament, along with speculation about what the other two schools would be like.

"I'm guessing Durmstrang will be one of the schools, but what about the other one?" Theo asked as the Slytherins dug into the feast. "I only know about Durmstrang as my father has friends who went there."

"I would say Beauxbatons," Draco said. He actually knew that Beauxbatons was the other school involved in the tournament, but even if he hadn't known it would have been easy to work out as they were the only other major wizarding school in Europe. Of course there was other schools in Europe, almost every country had one, but Hogwarts, Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were the top three.

"French, aren't they?" Blaise checked. "I think one of my stepfather's may have attended Beauxbatons."

"You think?" Daphne asked from across the table. "Don't you know?"

"They all tend to blend in together after a while," Blaise replied with an unconcerned shrug. "To be honest it's not worth getting to know them, Mother only gets bored and dumps them after a few years. It's just a vague recollection I have of one of them mentioned Beauxbatons."

"Exactly how many husbands has your mother had?" Pansy asked. They all knew Blaise's mother had been married a few times, but the way he was talking it seemed like it was something she did every few years.

Blaise frowned as he tried to work out how many times his mother had been married. "Six or seven," He finally decided on. "As I say, they all tend to blend together."

"Six or seven," Pansy repeated with wide eyes. "That's a hell of a lot of marriages."

"That's my mother for you," Blaise replied with a grin.

"Well when I get married, it'll just be the once," Pansy declared confidently as she shot Draco a seductive smile.

Draco recoiled at the implication in Pansy's words and smile. Hastily changing the topic back to the Triwizard Tournament, he wondered how to put an end to Pansy's flirting. He was finally coming to accept his romantic yearnings were heading in another direction altogether, and he didn't want Pansy to ruin anything between him and Hermione. Then again, if Harry was right and Hermione did have feelings for him, she might take care of Pansy for him. Hermione had a definite dark streak, and he could just imagine her annihilating the competition. Smirking at the idea of Hermione and Pansy going to war over him, Draco continued to mull over ways to rid himself of Pansy. No matter what happened, he wasn't going to let Pansy latch herself onto him like Ginny had done with Harry. He would find a way to prise her off him, even if he had to be brutal in doing so.


	6. Chapter 6

For once September the first had fallen on a weekend, so the first full day back at school was a Sunday. That gave the students plenty of opportunity to discuss the Triwizard Tournament and the two schools that would be arriving to participate in the competition. Rumours were also rife concerning which students would be entering the tournament. By lunchtime on Sunday the Weasley twins were already working out a way they could enter the tournament, despite the fact they weren't quite seventeen.

"It's just not fair," Fred protested when Hermione pointed out the rules were there for a reason. "We might not be seventeen this minute, but we're only a few months short."

"And you can't honestly say we would be any more mature when we're seventeen," George added. "We'll still be the same as we are now."

"That I can believe," Hermione muttered.

"See, so why shouldn't we be allowed to enter the tournament?" Fred questioned. "We're as mature as anyone else."

"And you're going to prove that by trying to sneak your name into the mix?" Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You're just put out because you're far too young to enter the tournament," George retorted.

"As if I want to enter a dangerous tournament just to prove I'm a good witch," Hermione snorted.

"I'm with Hermione on this one," Harry added. "Even if I was old enough, I wouldn't even think about putting my name forward."

"Ah, there's a true Gryffindor, Potter," An amused voice called from behind Harry. Turning around the group found the Slytherins sitting nearby, with Theo smirking at Harry. "I always knew all this about Gryffindors being brave was pure bullshit."

"We're braver than you Slytherins," Ron retorted. "I bet no snakes enter their name into the tournament."

"I'd enter if I was old enough," Blaise replied confidently.

"Yeah right," Harry replied with an amused laugh. "Face it Zabini, you wouldn't have the balls to enter the tournament."

"I have more balls than you," Blaise growled. "You're not even eligible for the contest and you're already running scared. If you were seventeen, you'd be hiding away so you didn't get chosen to take part in the tournament."

"I wouldn't choose to enter the tournament, but that's because I have brains," Harry retorted. "Who would risk their life for some poxy chance of glory?"

"You're forgetting the prize money, Potter," Draco said, joining the conversation. "I'm sure that's the reason the Weasleys want to be in the tournament. They're probably hoping to win enough money to escape from the hovel they live in."

Immediately, Ron, Fred and George all jumped to their feet and glared at the Slytherins. However, before anything could happen between the two groups they became aware of a commotion outside the Great Hall. With curiosity overruling their rivalry, the two groups headed towards the front hallway.

"What's happening?" Hermione asked a younger Gryffindor as students headed out of the double doors.

"There's something happening with the Black Lake," The girl answered. "It's behaving strangely."

Exchanging puzzled looks, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed outside to check out what was going on. When they reached the Black Lake, students were gathered all around. They quickly spotted the cause of all the mayhem as in the centre of the lake it appeared as though a whirlpool was forming.

"Is it the giant squid?" Ron asked.

"I don't think giant squids can create whirlpools," Harry replied with a frown.

"It looks like some form of magic to me," Hermione said. "Maybe something is going to come out of the water."

At Hermione's words, the trio exchanged another look before taking a step backwards. If there was something about to come out of the lake, they didn't want to end up soaked.

A few minutes later, Hermione words appeared to be coming true as the whirlpool continued to grow and a few of the students nearest to the lake shouted that they could see something in the water. Less than a minute later, whatever was in the water became visible to everyone as it began to slowly rise up.

"Is that a ship?" Harry asked in disbelief as the top of a series of masts became visible in the middle of the Black Lake.

"It looks like it," Hermione replied, equally as surprised as Harry by what she was seeing.

Less than five minutes later, a large ship had fully emerged from the whirlpool and was calmly bobbing on the Black Lake. Slowly the ship began to make its way towards the side of the lake, and as it did so the Hogwarts students spotted people on deck of the ship. Apart from one older wizard, everyone else on the ship seemed to be teenage boys.

"I'm guessing this is one of the other schools," Harry remarked as he turned round and spotted Dumbledore and several of the other Professors coming out of the school.

By the time Dumbledore and the other Professors had reached the lake, the ship had dropped anchor and the students on board had magically created a walkway between the ship and the bank of the lake. Instead of the students alighting from the ship, Dumbledore headed onto the ship, where he proceeded to greet the older wizard. No-one on the bank of the lake could hear what was being said, but they were quickly distracted by the ship when a strange noise was heard overheard.

"Now what?" Ron asked as he looked up into the sky.

"Something's heading this way," Harry said, pointing out a small, moving fleck in the sky.

"I can barely make that out," Ron remarked as he turned to Harry. "How can you see it with glasses?"

"They're good glasses," Harry replied. He'd gotten so used to wearing the glasses as a prop that he often forgot his eyesight wasn't supposed to be very good.

As usual, Ron didn't think twice about what Harry told him and he returned his attention to the sky. Sharing an amused look, Harry and Hermione did the same and soon a powder blue carriage pulled by several winged horses came into view.

"Wow, those horses are gorgeous," Hermione gasped as the carriage and the horses slowly flew towards the ground.

"I'm not really a fan of horses," Ron said as they moved to get a better view of the newest arrivals. "I think they're scary."

"I think they're great," Hermione replied. "I always wanted a pony growing up."

"Yeah, and you didn't get one," Harry laughed.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked, looking at Harry strangely.

"It's obvious," Harry replied, kicking himself for the fact he'd let his guard slip twice within a matter of minutes. "If Hermione had a pony, she would have mentioned it."

"It's true," Hermione agreed with a nod. "It would have come up before now if I had a pony."

"I guess," Ron replied with a shrug as he refocused on the carriage.

It had now fully landed and the door gently swung open. When a very tall woman emerged from the carriage, there were gasps all around.

"Blimey, that's one tall woman," Seamus remarked from nearby.

"Do you think she's half giant like Hagrid?" Harry whispered to Hermione as the woman looked around.

"Possibly," Hermione replied, watching as Dumbledore approached the woman and greeted her warmly, despite the fact he had to look upwards even to speak to her.

They watched Dumbledore and the witch for a few more minutes, until Dumbledore turned around and addressed the students, telling them to head back into the castle for the rest of the afternoon. Eager to make sure everyone was aware of the new arrivals, the students filed back into the castle. The excitement for the Triwizard Tournament was starting to build, and people were beginning to look forward to dinnertime when the tournament would officially begin.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

The feast to launch the Triwizard Tournament had people talking before it even began. As soon as the students entered the Great Hall, they knew things were different to normal. For a start there was five extra seats at the Professors table, and three of them were filled by Barty Crouch, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, and the head of school governors, Lucius Malfoy. Next to the Professors table stood a long hexagonal box, which exuded an air of mystery. And finally, the Ravenclaw and Slytherin tables had been extended, presumably to play host to the two visiting schools.

"Welcome," Dumbledore began once everyone was settled. "We begin tonight by welcoming the two schools who will be staying with us over the course of the year. I expect everyone to make our guests welcome. First of all, let's welcome Professor Karkaroff and his students from Durmstrang Institute."

With a loud bang, the doors to the Great Hall flung open and students dressed in fur robes began to make their way down the centre of the room. As the last student entered alongside the Headmaster, there were gasps of shock around the room.

"Bloody hell, its Krum," Ron gasped as the world famous quidditch star passed within inches of where he was sitting.

"Wow, Viktor Krum," Harry muttered, looking as awestruck as Ron. "Amazing."

"Boys and their quidditch," Hermione remarked with a roll of her eyes.

Harry and Ron didn't bother to reply as they watched the students from Durmstrang join the Slytherin table while their Headmaster, Igor Karkaroff, took his seat alongside the Professors. Of course as luck would have it, Draco and his friends were sitting at the end of the Slytherin table, and they immediately greeted the Durmstrang students, including Krum who was sitting next to Draco.

"Bloody Malfoy," Ron cursed under his breath as he watched the blond shake hands with the Bulgarian seeker.

"And now, let's give a warm welcome to Madame Maxime and the students from Beauxbatons academy of magic," Dumbledore cried.

Everyone's attention returned to the doors where the Beauxbatons students were entering the room in the powder blue silky uniforms. While all the Durmstrang students had been boys, all the students from Beauxbatons were girls, and not just any girls, they were a selection of the most beautiful witches Hogwarts had ever seen.

"I think I'm in love," Ron drooled as the girls' swept past him, leaving behind wisps of their sweet scent.

Ron wasn't the only boy to have fallen for the charms of the Beauxbatons girls, and when Hermione looked around the room she found almost every wizard was wearing the same dopey expression as they watched the girls take their seats at the Ravenclaw table. Even Harry and Draco didn't seem to be immune and they were both staring wide eyed just like everyone else.

"They're just girls," Hermione muttered, her eyes lingering on the Slytherin table where Draco was taking a particular interest in a tall, elegant, blonde girl.

"The most beautiful girls I've ever set eyes on," Ron said with a sigh.

"Snap out of it Ron, they're way out of your league," Hermione retorted slightly sharper than she'd intended.

Ron glared at Hermione, but he didn't have a chance to say anything before Dumbledore was once again speaking. Dumbledore welcomed the two schools to Hogwarts, before handing things over to Barty Crouch again. Taking Dumbledore's place at the podium, Crouch waved his wand and the hexagonal box that was standing at the side of the table opened and revealed a cup with blue flames flickering inside it.

"This ladies and gentlemen is the Goblet of Fire," Crouch announced. "The Goblet will be situated here in the Great Hall, where it will stay for two weeks. In those two weeks, anyone who wishes to enter their name may do so. Although, I will remind people of the age restriction on the tournament, and there will of course be spells on the cup so underage witches and wizards may not enter their name. As I said last night, anyone wanting to enter their name needs to think long and hard about the decision. Once entered into the goblet, there's no turning back. Entering your name is the equivalent of signing a magical contract, and once done there's no getting out of it." Crouch paused for a few minutes to let his words sink in, before he spoke again. "I now declare the Triwizard Tournament, open."

Crouch's words were met with applause by everyone in the room. As the students continued to cheer, Dumbledore clapped his hands and the feast appeared on the tables. With the noise in the Great Hall significantly louder than normal, the feast got underway. The main topic of conversation was of course the Triwizard Tournament, but it hadn't been forgotten that lessons started the following day. While the Triwizard Tournament was going to be exciting, there was still normal everyday things going on as well. Hogwarts wasn't going to come to a standstill just because of the tournament, and on a whole life would carry on as normal for the students of Hogwarts.


	7. Chapter 7

A little over twelve hours after the feast that got the Triwizard Tournament under way, Hogwarts returned to some sense of normality as the first day of lessons dawned. The students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons were in the Great Hall for breakfast, but it quickly became clear they wouldn't be joining any classes. Each school had been offered the use of a few empty classrooms, and they would be using them for their educational needs over the coming year.

"Another year of boring lessons," Ron sighed as McGonagall handed out the timetables. "At least things will be interesting with the Triwizard Tournament going on."

Harry nodded absentmindedly as he checked his timetable. He was still taking Ancient Runes, and like the previous year it meant two whole lessons without Ron.

"Look, we have Defence today," Harry said. "I wonder what Moody's like as a Professor."

"We'll soon find out," Hermione replied.

The previous afternoon, Severus had managed to pull them aside and warn them about Moody. He'd made it clear that the new Professor wasn't to be taken lightly, and that they had to be more careful than normal with how they acted, and how much they met up with Draco. Harry and Hermione were pretty confident they could handle anything Moody threw their way, but they still promised to be careful.

"I think it's pretty cool we've got an ex-Auror teaching us," Ron said. "It's going to be handy considering You-Know-Who's back. He'll be able to teach us how to fight."

"Who says we're going to need to fight?" Hermione questioned. "We were pretty much excluded during the last few days of the holidays. It's clear we're not wanted in the midst of what could be a dangerous situation."

"We might be excluded at the minute, but the day will come when we're going to have to fight," Ron insisted. "Most likely against those scumbags," He added, looking over to the Slytherin table where Draco and his friends were laughing at something with the boys from Durmstrang.

"You can't say that, Ron," Hermione scolded. "You have no idea what the Slytherins position on Voldemort is."

"We all know their position regarding that bastard," Ron spat. "It'll be the same as their parents. Everyone knows the majority of them have parents who support the dark."

"That was years ago, Ron," Harry argued. "Who knows what the situation is these days."

"Well I wouldn't trust a Slytherin as far as I could throw one," Ron said. "With a bit of luck, Moody will teach us some handy curses we can throw at the snakes."

Hermione tuned out as Ron started going on about all the nasty curses he would like to inflict on the Slytherins. By the end of breakfast, Ron was looking forward to Defence against the Dark Arts. Unfortunately for Ron, Defence wasn't until later that afternoon and before that he had to get through a morning of Potions with Snape and the Slytherins down in the dungeons.

"This is a bad start to a Monday," Ron grumbled as he took his seat. "Who schedules double potions on a Monday morning? Who schedules double potions in the first place?"

"A lot of our core subjects have been doubled up this year," Hermione remarked. "I suppose it's so we can more in depth lessons."

"But why do we have to start with double Potions?" Ron whined.

"I like Potions," Hermione said with a bright smile.

Ron mumbled something under his breath something Hermione couldn't hear just as Severus swept into the room. Within five minutes, Severus had instructions written up on the blackboard and instructed the students to get on with making the potion. Because they now had double lessons and were advancing up the years, the potion they were required to make was much harder than anything they'd had to make before. The end results was the brighter students, like Hermione and Draco, made the potion with relative ease, where the ones who struggled with potions, like Ron and Neville, found the entire thing almost too much to cope with.

"I hate potions more than ever now," Ron complained as they filed out of the classroom.

"Can't cope, Weasley?" Draco asked with a chuckle as he pushed past Ron with Blaise and Theo at his side. "Things are only going to get harder from now on. Perhaps you should just drop out of school. After all, there's no real place for losers like you in the wizarding world."

"Sod off Malfoy," Ron spat.

"Nice comeback," Draco laughed. "Maybe one day you can learn a word with more than a few letters in."

"Bugger off," Ron retorted.

"He's learning," Theo chuckled.

"Yeah, maybe one day he'll actually be able to come up with an actual witty reply," Blaise added.

"I doubt it," Draco snorted. "This is Weasley we're talking about, he's got the brains of a troll."

"Better than looking like one," Ron snapped, looking rather smug at his retort.

"If we look like trolls, I hate to think what sort of creature you look like," Theo said with a grimace. "Maybe a swamp monster of some kind."

When Ron turned red with rage, Draco merely laughed as he shook his head. "You really shouldn't insult people's looks Weasley, not when you look a right state yourself. There's nothing funnier than miserable looking creatures like yourself insulting other people's appearances."

With one final laugh, the Slytherins turned and headed down towards the Herbology greenhouses. The Gryffindors meanwhile headed up towards charms.

"Thanks for sticking up for me guys," Ron seethed, stalking off ahead of Harry and Hermione.

"We weren't going to get involved in such juvenile behaviour," Hermione called after Ron. "If you ignore the Slytherins, they just go away. The more you react, the more fun they have and the longer they'll hurl the insults around."

Instead of acknowledging Hermione, Ron stomped into the charms classroom and settled down beside Neville. Rolling her eyes at the redhead's back, Hermione settled at the table behind him with Harry.

"Git," She muttered under her breath.

"I hope you don't mean me," Harry said, shooting his friend a fake pout.

"Of course not," Hermione replied, still speaking quietly so no one could overhear them. "Sometimes, I get sick of this act. Don't you?"

"All the time," Harry confessed. "But I get though it by remembering it's not permanent."

Hermione nodded, and tried to remember she wouldn't always have to pretend to be someone she wasn't as she got through the rest of the day. Luckily, Ron was still brooding over his run-in with the Slytherins, and he didn't really start talking to Harry and Hermione again until they were entering Defence against the Dark Arts.

"I'm looking forward to this," Ron said. "It's just a shame we have to share the lesson with the Slytherins."

"It's an inevitable part of life, Ron," Harry said with a shrug. "Some lessons we share with Slytherins."

"Make that most of them," Ron grumbled as they took their seats. This time Ron settled himself next to Harry, so Hermione took the spare seat next to Neville.

Like they normally were, the Gryffindors were at the lesson first and the Slytherins trooped in just before the bell rang. In fact, Draco had only just settled down in his seat when the door to the office swung open and Moody charged into the room.

"I'm Alastor Moody, and I'll be your Defence Professor for the next year," Moody announced, his false eye roving over the class and scrutinising the students. "Some of you will have heard of me no doubt," He added with a smirk that looked more like a grimace. "I'm here to make sure you're prepared for what's to come. As you're all aware, the wizarding world is in danger once again. And most of you will be called on to fight."

"What if we don't want to fight?" Blaise called from the back of the room.

Moody immediately focused in on Blaise and frowned at the young Slytherin. "Are you a coward Mr Zabini?"

"No bloody way," Blaise replied.

"Then you'll fight," Moody declared with an absent wave of his hand. "The question is, which side will you fight for?"

"We all know the answer to that one," Ron remarked, loud enough for the entire class to hear him.

"And how are you so sure which side Mr Zabini will be fighting on?" Moody asked, zeroing in on Ron.

"It's obvious, he's a Slytherin," Ron replied.

"Ah, the all Slytherins are evil stance," Moody said with a nod. "Let me tell you, that's all a load of bull. A dark wizard comes in all shapes and forms, and he comes from any house. Anyone can be tempted to the dark, even those we would think of as incorruptible."

As he spoke, Moody's false eye once again swept the room and Hermione felt chills run down her back when it seemed to rest on her for a decent length of time. There and then she decided that Severus was right, they really did need to be careful around him. Rumour had it he was suspicious of everyone, even those he knew were on the light side. If anyone was going to see through her and Harry's act, Hermione would bet good money it would be Moody. They just had to make sure that didn't happen.

"Now onto some real work," Moody announced. "Who can tell me how many unforgivable curses there are?" Looking at the couple of hands that were raised, he pointed at Hermione. "Miss Granger."

"Three."

"And why are they so named?" He asked her.

"Because the use of any one of them is unforgivable and will earn you a one way ticket to Azkaban," Hermione replied.

"And who can tell me one of these unforgivable curses?" Looking around the room again, Moody's attention fell to Ron. "Mr Weasley."

"My Dad did tell me about one, the Imperius curse," Ron said, not sounding too sure of himself.

"Yes, your father would know all about that one," Moody said with a dark chuckle as he made his way over to his desk where three jars containing spiders stood. Pulling one of the spiders from the jar, he enlarged it before casting the Imperius curse on it. "Someone under the influence of the Imperius curse will do whatever the spell caster desires," Moody began as he flicked his wand and the spider went jumping from students head to head before he almost had the spider drown itself. "The problem then becomes, how can we tell if people are acting of their own choosing or are being forced to act. After the first war, dozens of people claimed they only did the bidding of You-Know-Who because they were under the influence of the Imperius curse. And the thing is, there's no way of knowing if they were under the curse or just using it as a handy excuse to get away with their crimes."

"I'd vote the latter in some circumstances," Ron said, turning around and glaring at Draco. Instead of reacting, Draco just gave Ron a smug smirk and settled further back in his seat.

"Another example," Moody said as he replaced the first spider in its jar and removed the second one, also enlarging it. "Mr Longbottom."

"The Cruciatius curse," Neville said quietly.

"Ah yes, you'd know all about that," Moody said, almost with a sick smile on his lips. "The Cruciatius curse causes the victim intense pain." With a casual flick of his wrist, he cast the spell on the spider and it instantly shrivelled up in pain. "The pain of the Cruciatius curse is like no other, and prolonged exposure can have life changing effects," Moody continued as the spider continued to writhe in pain.

Hermione had been watching the entire thing with revulsion, but she became concerned when she noticed Neville shaking beside her. Glancing over at him, she noticed he had his eyes squeezed shut and was clearly traumatised by what was happening in the classroom.

"Stop it," She snapped without thinking. When Moody shot his head her way she tried her best not to look as though she was worried to be under his scrutiny as she gestured to Neville. "Can't you see it's upsetting him?"

With a nod of his head, Moody ended the spell. "And can anyone tell me the last curse? Mr Malfoy?"

"The killing curse," Draco answered.

"Precisely," Moody said. "Avada Kedavra!" He cried, killing the poor spider he'd just been torturing. "There's only one known survivor of the killing curse, and he's sitting right in this room."

Immediately everyone's focus turned to Harry, and Hermione noticed he automatically slunk down in his seat. She knew Harry hated references to the night his mother was killed. He especially hated it when people claimed he's survived a killing curse, when he hadn't. The only person who could have started such rumours was Dumbledore himself, and Hermione knew Harry resented the old man for spreading falsities about him. Because of Dumbledore, people thought he was some sort of hero, and Harry hated that. He hated people thinking he'd defeated Voldemort, when in actual fact it had been something Dumbledore had done that had rendered his grandfather weakened for so many years.

Luckily for Harry the focus didn't stay on him for long as Moody started talking about the three curses and their effects. As soon as she was sure the Professor was busy over the other side of the room, Hermione checked on Neville.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," Neville replied with a small nod of his head. "Thank you for stopping him."

"It's okay," Hermione replied. "Is there a reason you were so affected by the curse? Other than the fact Moody is being totally irresponsible for using them in lessons."

"I don't want to talk about it," Neville muttered, almost turning his back on Hermione and the conversation.

For the first time, Hermione thought about Neville and realised she knew almost nothing of his personal life. From his reaction to the curse, she reckoned something major had occurred in his past. And now she'd noticed it, she would have to find out all she could. She wouldn't be able to rest until she found out a bit more about Neville's history and why he was so affected by the Cruciatius curse.


	8. Chapter 8

"What do you know about Neville's life?" Hermione asked Harry.

They'd been back at school for a week, and for the first time they'd been able to sneak into their private room in the library with Draco. The trio had been chatting about their first week back, and specifically what they thought of Moody, when Hermione remembered the first lesson and Neville's reaction to the Cruciatius curse.

"Not a lot, he's pretty private," Harry answered. "But when he does mention home, he always mentions his gran. I've never heard him mention his parents."

"That's because they're both in St Mungo's," Draco supplied.

"Why are they in hospital?" Hermione asked. "And how do you know about Neville's life?"

"I only know the story because I overheard my parents talking," Draco explained. "Basically Longbottom's parents were tortured pretty severely with the Cruciatius curse. It was so bad they both lost their minds and ever since they've been consigned to the psychiatric ward of the hospital."

"That's pretty harsh," Harry replied. "I'm assuming they opposed Grandfather."

"The Longbottoms were part of the Order, and Aurors, but they weren't targeted on The Dark Lord's instructions," Draco answered.

"Then why were they tortured?" Hermione asked with a frown.

"That would be my Aunt Bellatrix," Draco replied.

"The one who's in Azkaban?" Harry checked. He knew Draco had two aunts, one who was in Azkaban and one who had been disowned for marrying a muggleborn.

"That's her."

"So why did Bellatrix torture the Longbottoms if Father didn't order it?" Hermione asked.

"From what I overheard, Bella was in love with The Dark Lord the moment she set eyes on him. However, the feeling was never returned, and then he met Beth. I don't know the details, but I got the impression Bella went off the rails when your parents got married. She became a loose cannon, and was very nearly caught several times. When you were born it got worse, and she began taking bigger risks. The Longbottoms were one risk too many, and she was caught in the act along with some other Death Eaters she'd persuaded to join her. The whole lot of them ended up in Azkaban."

"And Father never considered freeing them?"

"I got the impression he was mad that the others had listened to Bella and acted without consulting him. Then a few weeks later, everything blew up with Harry and he didn't have the power to organise a release," Draco answered.

"When did you hear this?" Harry asked. He'd never heard the story before and was slightly put out his best friend hadn't shared it before now.

"Just before we returned to school," Draco replied. "I think my parents were discussing it as Voldemort has mentioned getting some of his followers out of prison. I think Mother was wondering if her sister was going to be one of them."

"Did they think she would be?" Hermione asked.

"Father wasn't so sure," Draco admitted. "He reckoned Bellatrix was a liability. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"At least it explains why Neville was so affected in class the other day," Hermione said. "Although, can you believe Moody actually performed those curses in a lesson?"

"You're not bothered by the spells, are you?" Harry asked, sharing an amused look with Draco. "As a dark witch, you'll probably have to use them at one time."

"Using them to achieve something is very different to using them in front of a class of teenagers," Hermione retorted. "Moody just wanted to look cool. He wanted people to talk about him and say what a great teacher he is."

"I think he's bloody creepy," Draco said with a mock shudder. "When he looks at you with that false eye, it's like he's looking right into your soul."

"Don't be so dramatic," Harry laughed.

"Hey, I'm being serious," Draco protested. He may have been slightly exaggerating with his fake shiver, but his words had been genuine.

"I understand what you mean," Hermione said, giving Draco a small smile. "When he uses that eye, I feel so exposed. I half expected him to tell everyone who I truly am."

"I have no such problem with him," Harry replied with a shrug. "He's unconventional, but he's not too bad. We've had worse teachers."

"Even so, we still have to be careful," Hermione warned. "I mean it Harry, Moody could be very dangerous. We need to be on our guard the entire time."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," Harry said as he got to his feet. "Now, I have to go before Ron gets suspicious about where I've been. I can only say I've been studying in the library for so long, before he accuses me of fancying Hermione again."

"What?" Draco cried as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"It's Ron's new thing," Hermione explained. "He thinks Harry has a thing for me, and that's why he took Ancient Runes last year, and why we're studying together this year."

"It's only because he fancies her," Harry said with a mischievous smirk. "He's checking out the competition."

"Ronald does not fancy me," Hermione huffed. "He barely tolerates me, and the feeling is entirely mutual."

"Whatever you say," Harry said, rolling his eyes at Hermione. "Mark my words, Ron has a crush on you and one day you'll have to deal with it."

Chuckling at the perturbed look on Draco's face, Harry exited the secret room and hurried out of the library. Back in the private room, Draco was still sitting brooding over the revelation that Weasley fancied Hermione. He'd been under the same impression as Hermione, that the redhead merely tolerated her for Harry's sake. Of course that could be true, and Harry could have just been trying to stir the pot.

"Just ignore him," Hermione said, noticing the frown on Draco's face.

"Who?" Draco asked.

"Harry. He's just been a little shit stirrer."

"It's the Slytherin in him," Draco said. "That's doesn't mean he's wrong though. Weasley might fancy you."

"Well I don't fancy him," Hermione insisted firmly.

"Not your type, is he?" Draco casually questioned.

Hermione's gaze swept over Draco before she shook her head. "No, he's not my type."

"That's good to hear," Draco replied with a smile as he noticed the look Hermione gave him.

"Why is that good to hear?" Hermione questioned in a teasing tone.

"I just think you can do better than Weasley," Draco retorted.

"I should hope so," Hermione snorted. "Any boy I get involved with has to be much more impressive than Ronald Weasley. He needs to be smarter, better looking, and so much darker."

"I'm sure the boy you're looking for will turn up eventually," Draco smirked, knowing that Hermione's descriptions fit him perfectly.

"I'm sure he will," Hermione agreed, giving Draco another once over before swiftly changing the subject onto their Arithmancy homework.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

"It won't work," Hermione called in a sing-song tone as she rolled her eyes.

It was the last afternoon for people to put their names into the Goblet of Fire, and almost everyone who wanted to enter the tournament had waited until the last minute to enter their name. It had also taken until the last day for the twins to come up with a plan to circumvent the age line, Dumbledore had drawn around the cup. Hermione was currently sitting next to Harry, Ron and some other Gryffindors as they'd gathered to watch the twins display.

"And why's that?" Fred asked.

"Because you'll never fool the age line," Hermione replied.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong," George smirked as he pulled out two small vials from his pocket. "This is an age potion, which will age us just enough so we can cross the line."

"I still say it won't work," Hermione said with a shrug.

"You have so little faith in us, Hermione," Fred tutted as he took one of the vials of potion from George.

"Bottoms up," George cried as the brothers linked arms and swigged their potion.

Since they were only supposed to be aging a few months, nothing noticeable happened to the pair. The real test would be when they crossed the age line. Sharing identical grins, the twins crossed the age line together. When nothing happened immediately, the people gathered to watch their show began to cheer. Fred and George both turned and gave Hermione a smug smirk, but before they could revel in their success there was an almighty bang and the pair were expelled from the area behind the age line in a cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Fred and George were lying on the ground with identical long white beards and white hair.

"You said," Fred accused, pointing his finger at his brother.

"No, you said," George retorted as he lunged at his twin.

Within seconds the pair were rolling around on the floor, locked in a fierce wrestling match. As the spectators watched on with amusement, Hermione merely rolled her eyes. As bright as the twins were, they really should have known better than to try and fool one of Dumbledore's spells. The old headmaster may not have been one of Hermione's favourite people, but even she could admit he was a hell of a wizard, and two sixteen year olds, no matter how ingenuous, were never going to outsmart him.

Finally Fred and George were separated and they headed off to the hospital wing to get themselves fixed before the big event that evening. Of course by the time the choosing of the champions rolled round, everyone had heard about Fred and George's escapades and the pair were given a warm welcome when they entered the Great Hall. The pair were fast becoming the stuff of Hogwarts legends, and a few more stunts like the one they'd just pulled would ensure their names would be remembered long after they'd left Hogwarts.

Before the choosing of the champions, it was business as normal and dinner was served. It was only during dinner that Ron got his eye on the Professors table and frowned when he spotted Lucius Malfoy sitting quite cosily next to Severus Snape. Vaguely he had a memory of the blond man being present at the unveiling of the cup, but with everything that had been going on, he wasn't sure if he was right or not.

"Does anyone know what Malfoy's doing here?" Ron asked.

"Having his dinner, same as normal," Harry replied with a confused frown, thinking Ron was talking about Draco.

"Not that git, his father," Ron said, tilting his head towards the Professors table.

Harry looked up and pretended to be surprised to see Lucius sitting chatting with his father. "No idea."

"He's going to be a judge for the tournament," Hermione supplied.

"How do you know that?" Ron asked.

"I overheard Malfoy telling Zabini and Nott," Hermione answered. In actual fact, she had overheard Draco talking to Blaise and Theo at the beginning of the term and he'd been telling them about Lucius's role as a judge.

"How did that bastard make it as a judge?" Ron demanded.

Hermione gave Ron a disapproving look regarding his language before she answered him. "He's a judge due to his position as head of governors."

"I still say having Malfoy as a judge is unfair," Ron grumbled. "What if the Hogwarts champion is a Gryffindor, he'll not support a Gryffindor."

"It's the job of all the judges to be fair, and I'm sure Mr Malfoy will be just that," Hermione said.

"Malfoys aren't fair, haven't you learnt that by now?" Ron said, shooting Hermione a pitying look. Sometimes he despaired over how soft hearted his friend was. She always wanted to see the best in people, even if there wasn't anything good to see.

Over the rest of the meal, the conversation drifted away from Lucius and turned to who the champions would be. Eventually dinner was over, and the house tables were moved and seats were erected along the two side walls of the Great Hall. While the students relocated to the seats at the side of the room, Dumbledore and the rest of the adults got everything sorting for the choosing of the champions.

Finally it was time and everyone watched with baited breath as Dumbledore stepped up to the Goblet of Fire. Several minutes seemed to pass, before the flames in the cup changed colour a piece of parchment was emitted from the flames. Reaching up, Dumbledore grabbed the parchment and opened it up.

"The champion from Beauxbatons is Fleur Delacour."

Hermione clapped along with the others as the gorgeous blond witch she'd spotted Draco eying up on her first night stepped forward. The adults directed her towards a door at the back of the room, which led to a small, rarely used anti-chamber. Fleur had no sooner stepped through the doors when another piece of parchment was emitted from the flames.

"The Durmstrang champion is Viktor Krum."

Krum's participation in the tournament got a far bigger cheer that Fleur's and Hermione suspected a good portion of the Hogwarts students would be supporting the Bulgarian quidditch star. The Slytherins certainly seemed happy with the choice and they were clapping and cheering just as loudly as the small contingent from Durmstrang. With two champions out of the way, it was time for the third and final one to be picked as the next piece of parchment fluttered from the flames and into Dumbledore's grasp.

"And finally, the Hogwarts champion is Cedric Diggory."

The Great Hall erupted into cheers as Cedric made his way forward. The Hufflepuff's especially seemed thrilled that one of their own was finally in the limelight. Hermione thought Cedric was a pretty good choice of champion, he was an all-round nice person and the fact he was in Hufflepuff would eliminate most of the house rivalries. She knew for a fact if a Gryffindor had been chosen as champion then the Slytherins wouldn't have supported them, and vice versa, but no-one really had a problem with the Hufflepuffs, they tended to get along with everyone, even the Slytherins had no real problems with them.

As Cedric left the room, and headed into the anti-chamber, things began to calm down in the Great Hall. Just as Dumbledore stopped forward to bring an end to proceedings there was a ripple of noise as the flames in the Goblet of Fire once again changed colour and emitted a fourth bit of parchment. Dumbledore caught the parchment with a frown, and when he opened it up his frown only deepened.

"Harry Potter," He called. "Where's Harry Potter?"

Turning to her nephew, Hermione found the horror she was feeling was etched on Harry's face. It didn't take a genius to work out someone had entered Harry into the tournament, but the question was who? Not to mention, why? What on earth could anyone hope to achieve by entering Harry into the Triwizard Tournament?

"Harry Potter," Dumbledore called again, practically screaming Harry's name.

Reluctantly Hermione gave Harry a nudge and she watched with a sinking heart as her nephew made his way over to Dumbledore. Dumbledore gave Harry a cold look as he pointed him to the door the others had taken. As he passed by Severus and Lucius, he gave them a pleading look, but all they could do was watch as he entered the room with the other champions.

Hermione was still in shock when Dumbledore quickly brought the evening to a close and disappeared off into the anti-chamber with the other adults. As she made her way back to Gryffindor Tower, Hermione's only consolation was that Harry wasn't alone. Both Severus and Lucius had entered the anti-chamber, and if there was a way to fix things, they'd find it. Hermione believed with all her heart that Severus would never let anything bad happen to Harry. Her brother would die rather than see his son suffer, and Hermione knew Harry would have all the protection he could ever want. He might have just been entered into a deadly tournament, but no harm would come to him, Hermione would bet her own life on that.


	9. Chapter 9

The choosing of the champions had been fairly mundane for Severus, until his son's name mysteriously emerged from the Goblet of Fire. Before Harry's name was called, Severus was standing next to Lucius, impatiently waiting for the entire thing to be over. Rather than concentrating on what was happening with the champions, his focus was on Moody, who was standing not too far away and kept shooting him and Lucius dark looks. Even though he'd only been around Hogwarts a fortnight, Severus was already sick of the former Auror. Despite the fact everyone was supposed to think Severus was on the light, Moody constantly made remarks about Severus and his connection to Voldemort. Of course, everything he was saying was true, but it was very tedious having to cope with his snide remarks every time they were in the same room together. And now Lucius was around, Moody's remarks were aimed at the pair of them.

"At least we'll be able to leave soon," Lucius whispered to Severus as the final champion made his way to the front of the Great Hall.

"Thank Merlin for small mercies," Severus replied with a relieved sigh.

Seconds later his relief disappeared when a fourth bit of parchment mysteriously shot from the Goblet of Fire. When Dumbledore then called out Harry's name, Severus felt his heart miss a beat. It wasn't possible, it couldn't be. There was no way his son could have been entered into the tournament. Unfortunately for Severus, Harry was indeed entered into the tournament and he could do nothing but stare as his son passed by him and entered the antic-chamber with the other champions.

"Don't do anything rash," Lucius warned quietly as Dumbledore quickly dismissed the students and led the way into the anti-chamber.

Severus wanted to shake Lucius's calming hand off his arm and yell at him that his son was in danger and he would act rashly if he so wished, however he knew his old friend was right. At the minute, they didn't know what was happening. The sensible thing was to work out what was going on, before he decided how to proceed.

Severus was shocked when the second the door to the anti-chamber was closed, Dumbledore stormed over to Harry and demanded how he'd managed to enter the tournament.

"I didn't," Harry protested.

"Don't lie to me, Harry," Dumbledore yelled, grabbing hold of Harry and lightly shaking the teenager. "Did you get one of the older students to enter your name into the cup?"

"No," Harry cried, looking slightly alarmed at the fuming Headmaster.

"Albus, that's enough," McGonagall scolded, stepping forward and pulling Dumbledore off Harry before Severus had the chance to lose it and snap at the Headmaster.

"Sorry," Dumbledore said to Harry, looking rather disturbed by his own actions.

"Will someone explain this?" Karkaroff demanded, glaring at Harry. "How does Hogwarts have two champions? This better not be cheating, Dumbledore."

"Of course it's not cheating," Dumbledore snapped. "I don't want this any more than you do. I have no idea how Harry's name got into the cup."

"Does anyone?" Moody asked as he slowly scrutinised the people in the room, focusing on Lucius and Severus. "Harry?" He asked, turning back to the boy in question. "Are you sure you have no idea how this happened?"

"I swear, it's as much of a shock to me, as it is to all of you," Harry replied. "I don't want to be in The Triwizard Tournament. I'm only fourteen, I can't do this."

"He has a point," McGonagall said softly. "He's under-age, he can't be allowed to participate."

"I'm afraid he has no choice," Barty Crouch said quietly. "Putting his name into the cup entered him into a binding magical contract, and it cannot be broken."

"But I didn't put my name into the cup," Harry protested.

"Someone did, and by doing so they sealed the contract for you," Crouch replied.

"This is ridiculous," Severus spat. "You cannot possibly expect an under-age boy to take part in a tournament which until recently was deemed to be unsafe for anyone to participate in. Albus, do something."

"I wish there was something I could do, but alas my hands are tied," Dumbledore said with a sigh. "Barty's right, we can't break a magical contract."

"To hell with Crouch and his rules, this is a young boys' life we're talking about here," Severus exploded. "I will not stand back and let you put his life at risk. Lucius, could you find a way out of the contract?"

"I can try my best," Lucius replied, trying to sound more positive than he felt. As much as he hated the idea of Harry partaking in the tournament, he couldn't see a way out of it. "I'm thinking about the school here, and it does not look good to have one of our under-age students risking his life in a meaningless tournament."

"You can do what you like Malfoy, you can't break the deal," Crouch said in exasperation. "The magic in the Goblet of Fire is binding. Mr Potter has no choice but to participate in the tournament."

"What if I refuse to take part?" Harry asked.

"You don't want to break a magical contract, it's not pleasant," Crouch warned.

"I'm afraid he's right, Harry," Dumbledore said softly. "Refusing to take part in the tournament will only cause you to suffer."

"As will him taking part in the tournament," McGonagall argued. "I cannot agree that making him compete is in Harry's best interests. I'm with Severus on this, we need to find way to get Harry out of the tournament."

"We do have some time," Lucius said. "The first task isn't until November."

"We'll see what we can do in that time," Dumbledore conceded.

"As well as that, I want a full inquiry into what happened," Karkaroff demanded. "I want to know how two Hogwarts students are in the tournament."

"I would have thought that was obvious," Moody snorted as Madame Maxime backed her fellow head up in demanding an investigation into the evening's events.

"Do share," Karkaroff sneered at the former Auror. Like Severus and Lucius he'd been subjected to stares and snide remarks, and he'd had enough of the other wizard.

"Harry's name was obviously entered under a different school's," Moody explained. "Three champions had been chosen, and the goblet wouldn't have picked a second champion from one school. The goblet obviously thought there was another school participating."

"What, four schools in a Triwizard Tournament?" Karkaroff scoffed, emphasising the 'tri' in Triwizard Tournament.

"It is the logical answer," Dumbledore said. He'd already decided how Harry's name had been picked, he just wasn't sure how the age barrier had been bypassed.

"I still want an investigation," Karkaroff insisted. "Hogwarts still has two champions, and I'm not happy about it."

"Nor am I," Madame Maxime agreed. "It's just not fair, and I don't like it."

"Hopefully we can sort it out before the first task, but until then we just have to deal with things the way they are" Dumbledore said. "For now, I suggest we let the four students return to their friends. Tomorrow morning we'll start the official business of the Tournament. After breakfast, I want you all back here in this room."

"What about lessons?" Cedric asked with a frown.

"Your morning lessons have been cancelled, as have yours Harry," Dumbledore said. "Now, the pair of you can take yourselves back to your dorms."

Severus was still standing seething behind Dumbledore as he dismissed his son. Luckily, he managed to catch Harry's eye on the way out and he was fairly confident his son knew he wanted to speak to him. However, Lucius hadn't missed the exchange and knowing his friend would want to speak to Harry, he made his excuses and left the room just after the boys.

"Well that was unexpected," Dumbledore remarked when the four champions had departed the anti-chamber. Karkaroff and Madame Maxime had also left with their students, leaving just the Hogwarts staff and Barty Crouch.

"Unexpected?" Severus snapped. "That's the best you can do? Someone has entered one of our students into a deadly tournament without his knowledge and all you can say is that it was unexpected?"

"Calm down, Severus. I know this has been shocking, but I think we all know who's behind it," Dumbledore said.

"Do we?" McGonagall questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"I think it's fairly clear," Dumbledore replied. "Only weeks after Voldemort makes his presence felt, Harry is entered into a dangerous tournament. There's no question he's behind the entire thing, the question is how has he managed it? Who does he have helping him?"

"I can think of a few options," Mood remarked, letting his gaze fall on Severus.

"I will not stand here and be accused of something I didn't do," Severus snarled. "Now if you don't mind, I have things to do."

Without giving Dumbledore or anyone else a chance to respond, Severus swept out of the anti-chamber, hurried through the Great Hall and headed down to the dungeons. When he entered his office, he found Lucius was still present. The blond wizard was sitting in front of his desk, reassuring Harry that everything would be okay.

"Dad," Harry cried as he got to his feet.

"It'll be okay, Harry," Severus said as he pulled his son in for a hug. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know, but you'll not be able to get me out of the tournament will you?" Harry asked with a sigh. Lucius had already explained that it was impossible to break a magical contract.

"Maybe not the conventional way, but I'm going to go and speak to father and see what he says," Severus replied. "If we have to we'll pull you out of school. We'll even reveal who you really are if needs be."

"Surely that won't help," Harry protested. "All it will do is ruin our plans. If you can't get me out of the tournament, couldn't you just protect me?"

"Between me, you and your father, we could protect Harry pretty soundly," Lucius agreed. "It could be the best way to go."

"Even with protection, he'll still be in danger," Severus argued. "I would rather he wasn't in the tournament at all."

"You and me both," Harry muttered. "But things are out of our hands now. We might just have to make the best of the situation."

Severus couldn't help but smile fondly at his son. "How did you get to be so smart?"

"It's in the genes," Harry replied with a grin.

"Off you go to bed, Harry," Severus said with a chuckle. "I'm sure Hermione's dying to find out what happened. I'll visit Father, and I'll let you know tomorrow what's going on. But I promise whatever happens, no harm will come to you, Harry."

Harry nodded his head, before he said goodnight and headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Once Harry had left, Severus connected the floo network in his office and he and Lucius headed off to the manor. While Lucius went off to fill Narcissa in on what had happened, Severus headed to his father's house to talk with Voldemort and Beth. When Severus arrived at his father's house, he found Voldemort and Beth in the front room.

"Severus, we weren't expecting you," Beth remarked, giving her step-son a warm smile.

"Something's happened," Severus announced as he took a seat opposite the couple. "Harry's been entered into the Triwizard Tournament."

"He's what?" Voldemort exploded, jumping angrily to his feet.

While Voldemort paced the floor, muttering about how he was going to murder whoever had put his grandson in danger, Severus explained about the evening's events. When Severus had finished talking, there was heavy silence in the room as Voldemort and Beth took everything in.

"Blasted Dumbledore," Voldemort finally spat, breaking the silence. "I'd bet my life, this is down to him."

"Funny, he seems to think it's down to you," Severus replied.

"I'm sure that's what he wants people to think," Voldemort seethed. "He's probably trying to manipulate Harry into thinking he needs to fight me."

"He seemed pretty stunned when Harry's name came out of the goblet. If it was an act, it was a damn good one," Severus said, thinking back to Dumbledore's extreme reaction as he tried to work out how Harry had been entered in the tournament.

"Does it matter who it was?" Beth questioned. "Surely at the minute, the important thing is Harry. Can we get him out of the tournament?"

"Lucius is looking into it, but it's not looking likely," Severus said. "Harry thinks we should work on protecting him."

"That sounds like a plan," Voldemort agreed with a nod. "We'll cast as many protection spells as we can on Harry. But I still want to know who's behind this. Our focus is going to be on protecting Harry, but we're not going to forget that someone did this deliberately. Whoever did so this will pay, mark my words."

"Yes, they will," Severus agreed with a snarl. His focus was on protecting Harry, but he wasn't going to forget that someone had deliberately put his son in danger.

With thoughts of getting revenge on whoever had entered Harry into the tournament pushed to one side, Voldemort, Beth and Severus spent the next hour or so discussing different protection spells they could put on Harry. With all their expertise, not to mention the skills of Lucius and Narcissa, they were confident that by the time the first task rolled round that Harry would be well protected. If someone had entered him into the tournament hoping to get him killed, they were going to be sorely disappointed. Harry was going to emerge from the tournament without a scratch on him, and with the help they could give him, he might even emerge as the victor.


	10. Chapter 10

After leaving his father's office, Harry felt slightly reassured as he headed up to Gryffindor Tower. Realistically he would love nothing more than to get out of the whole tournament, but since that wasn't a serious option, he would just have to make the most of things. He trusted his family would protect him, he just wish he knew what he was about to face.

Ironically Harry's first difficulty as a champion arose almost as soon as he entered Gryffindor Tower. The second he stepped foot in the common room, everyone stopped talking and they all turned to look at him. Ignoring the stares, he made his way over to Hermione and his friends who were sitting beside the fire.

"Hey," He said quietly as he sat down next to Ron.

"Hey, is that all you've got to say?" Ron snarled as he jumped to his feet.

"What's going on?" Harry asked warily. Ron was clearly mad at him for some reason, but he was unsure why.

"As if you need to ask," Ron replied with a snort. "I thought we were friends, Harry. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you put your name in the Goblet of Fire. Did it ever occur to you, I might have wanted to enter? Maybe for once, I wanted to step out of your shadow and get some glory of my own."

Harry looked up at Ron and shook his head in disbelief. "You honestly think I did this myself. How stupid are you?"

"I'm not stupid," Ron snapped. "I know what I saw Harry. I saw you grabbing all the attention, again."

"You think I want all this attention?" Harry shouted as he got to his feet and glared at Ron. "I don't want to be in this bloody tournament. Someone entered my name into the goblet without my knowledge, probably someone hoping to kill me. I would love for you to take my place in this tournament. I don't want glory, Ron, I just want to live my life in peace."

"As if," Ron scoffed. "You've done nothing but hog the limelight since I met you. You're always jumping in to save the day."

"I'm sorry, next time I'll leave your sister to die," Harry snapped. "You know what, Ron, think what you like. I don't care."

"Good, because I think you're a stinking no good backstabber," Ron shot back. "A true friend would have told me about their plan."

"There was no plan," Harry shouted as Ron turned and stomped up to the dorms. "Really, there wasn't," He added quietly as he turned back to the others. "I didn't do this."

"I'm sure you didn't, Harry," Seamus said sympathetically.

"Yeah, you'd have to be mad to willingly enter such a dangerous tournament," Dean added as he and Seamus got up to head to bed.

Neville also expressed his belief that Harry hadn't entered the tournament willingly before he also headed to bed. Left alone with Hermione, Harry slumped back down on the sofa. Hermione quickly joined him, wrapping her arm around him as she subtly cast a spell around them so that no-one could overhear their conversation.

"Are you stuck in the tournament?" Hermione asked. Despite the spell she was still wary of what they said, just in case anything went wrong.

"It looks that way," Harry replied. "Apparently getting out of the tournament could take years. I'll just have to take part and be very careful."

"We'll help you all we can," Hermione said. She knew Harry would know she was including Draco in her offer of help.

"I know," Harry said, giving Hermione a small smile.

"And don't worry about Ron, he's just an arsehole," Hermione said.

"We already knew that," Harry said with a smirk.

"I tried to talk some sense into him, but I don't think that's possible," Hermione said. "He's just so jealous of you and so desperate for some fame of his own."

"Pathetic git," Harry muttered. "I've got more important things to worry about than Ron's insecurities."

"Unfortunately, I'm fairly sure he'll come round," Hermione said. "He wouldn't know what to do with himself if he wasn't 'best friends' with Harry Potter."

"I'll have to enjoy the peace while I can," Harry said with a smile.

"You will, and don't worry about the tournament. I'm sure the family will work out who entered you and why," Hermione said.

"I'm sure they will," Harry agreed.

After talking to Hermione for a while longer, Harry said goodnight and headed off to bed. Ron was still awake when he entered the dorm room, but the second Harry entered the room he pulled the hangings around his bed.

"Git," Harry muttered under his breath as he got ready for bed and settled down in his own bed for the night.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

The following morning Ron still wasn't talking to Harry. Not that Harry was bothered, he was more concerned with the tournament and the fact he was expected to do his first duties as champion after breakfast.

"Are you nervous?" Hermione asked as they ate.

"Of course I'm nervous," Harry replied. "I've been entered into a deadly tournament, and I have no idea what awaits me."

"Maybe you'll find out after breakfast," Hermione suggested.

"I hope so," Harry said. "I think not knowing what to expect is the worst thing about all this. Maybe if I knew what to prepare for, I could calm my nerves slightly."

"I'm sure everything will be alright," Hermione said as she gave Harry a peck on the cheek.

"I'm sure it will," Harry replied, offering Hermione a small smile as they prepared to part ways.

As Harry turned to head into the anti-chamber, he ran head first into Draco. Draco snapped at him to watch where he was going as he subtly slipped a piece of parchment into his hand. Snapping back at Draco, Harry gave his friend a quick nod as he turned and headed into the anti-chamber. Once in the anti-chamber, Harry quickly read the note. It contained a quick good luck from Draco as well as a request to go to Severus's office at lunchtime. Harry shoved the note into his pocket as Dumbledore entered the room with the other two heads. A few minutes later the other three champions were present and Dumbledore called for quiet.

"Your four have a big responsibility," He began. "The eyes of the wizarding world will be on you. Remember you'll be representing your school, and I'm sure you all want to do them proud. This is your chance to shine, even if you don't win the tournament, you can make a name for yourself. Take this opportunity, and use it. The first task will be held on the twenty fourth of November, but there is one more thing you need to do before then. You are going to spend the morning talking to a journalist from the Daily Prophet. There'll be pictures taken, and interviews with all four of you. Remember, the whole world wants to know what happens with the tournament."

Harry wasn't at all impressed at the thought of talking to a journalist, and he was even less impressed when Dumbledore ushered a blonde woman in a lime green skirt and jacket into the room. Harry instantly disliked the woman as she scrutinised him with a hungry look on her face, while Dumbledore introduced her as Rita Skeeter. Her eyes lighting up at the thought of interviewing Harry Potter, Rita turned to the photographer who had followed her into the room. Immediately she began barking orders and posing the four champions as the photographer snapped his pictures.

"You've got until lunchtime to do the interviews, Rita," Dumbledore told the reporter. "Harry, Cedric, once Rita is finished with you, you can return to your normal classes."

"I think we'll start with the youngest," Rita said with a wide smile. "Little Harry Potter."

Before Harry knew it, Rita had grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him out of the anti-chamber. Second later she thrust him into a darkened room, and when she flicked on the light, he found they were in a supply cupboard.

"This will do nicely," Rita remarked as she transfigured a couple of boxes into chairs. "Sit down, Harry. I won't bite."

Harry sat down on one of the chairs and watched as Rita settled herself on the other. With a flick of her wand, a notebook and a fancy quill appeared hovering in mid-air in front of her.

"You don't mind if I use a quick-quotes quill do you?" She asked, even though it was clearly a rhetorical question. "So Harry, why did a boy of twelve chose to enter such a dangerous tournament?"

"Firstly, I'm not twelve, I'm fourteen," Harry corrected. "And secondly, I didn't enter the tournament. Someone else put my name in the goblet."

"Do you think it's your tragic past?" Rita asked, having not paid the slightest bit attention to what Harry had said. "Are you desperate to prove yourself? Especially now You-Know-Who is back. Are you trying to make your dead parents proud?"

Harry frowned at Rita, before focusing on her quill which hadn't stopped writing although he'd barely spoken. "What's that writing?" He asked, tilting his head to read some of what was going down in her notebook. "Hey, my eyes aren't glistening with the ghosts of my past. Nor am I about to burst into tears as you talk about my mother."

"Don't worry, it's just a bit of fluff for the piece." Rita waved a dismissive hand as she moved the notebook out of Harry's line of sight. "Now tell me about some of your other adventures. You've had quite an eventful life, haven't you?"

Despite the fact Rite asked hundreds of questions, Harry barely managed to answer half of them. No sooner had she asked one question, then she was answering it herself and moving on. After nearly half an hour she had pages full of nonsense written by her magical quill, and Harry had spoken very little. Not at all impressed with the over the top reporter, Harry was finally able to leave the supply cupboard and return to his normal life as a student.

Harry managed to attend a couple of classes before lunch, and during them he filled Hermione in on his interview with Rita. Ron still wasn't speaking to him, so the pair were able to talk in relative peace. Harry was even able to quickly tell Hermione about the note he received from Draco.

At lunchtime, Hermione decided to accompany Harry to Severus's office. With Ron not talking to Harry, it was the perfect opportunity for the pair to slip away unnoticed. When they arrived down in the dungeons, Severus was waiting for them in his office alongside Draco.

"I just wanted to see how things were going," Draco explained. "I was pretty worried last night when your name came out of the goblet."

"Weren't we all," Harry replied, giving his best friend a smile.

"Luckily, I've got a pile of protection spells and potions to keep you safe," Severus said. "And I suppose it's also pretty fortunate that you've already got a few protective spells on you."

The spells Harry had on him were a result of Severus's worries about Sirius. Even though he was on the run again, they didn't know if he'd be back. Severus had been worried that Harry's godfather would try and snatch him, so they'd protected him so no-one could take him anywhere without his permission. However, they were going to need a lot more spells on him to protect him from what was to come in the Triwizard Tournament.

"Do you have any idea what the tournament will involve?" Harry asked as his father began to administer the potions and cast the spells.

"I know the final task will involve finding the actual Triwizard Cup itself," Severus answered. "But other than that, I know nothing. As a judge, Lucius will find out about the tasks ahead of time. He'll warn us what's coming up."

"And we'll prepare together," Draco reassured his friend. "You're not in this alone, Harry. Hermione and I will help in any way we can."

"Look at you two, on the same wave length," Harry said, throwing the pair a mischievous smirk. "Hermione said the same things last night. Isn't it cute how you can speak for one another?"

"Harry," Hermione warned in a stern voice.

"Sorry, Aunt Hermione," Harry returned, causing Hermione to snarl at him while Severus and Draco chuckled softly.

"There, we're done," Severus announced ten minutes later. "The spells will keep any serious harm from coming to you. Although, you'll still have to be careful and have a plan of action going into every task."

"We'll make sure he does," Hermione promised her brother.

"And I'll be there at every task in case anything goes wrong," Severus added. "I'm telling the three of you now, if I seriously fear for Harry's life, I'm breaking cover. I will not stand back and do nothing while my son is in danger, and I don't care who knows it. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but I thought you deserved to know it would happen if things got dicey."

"If it happens, it happens," Harry said with a shrug. "Hopefully we'll be prepared and I can get through this tournament unscathed."

"Not to mention the Yule Ball," Severus added with a wicked grin.

"The Yule Ball?" Harry looked to his father for more answers.

"A traditional part of the tournament," Severus explained. "It's an old fashioned ball, where the champions start off the dancing."

"Dancing?" Harry paled at the thought of dancing. Unlike Draco, he wasn't elegant and had never mastered the art of dancing.

"The dancing isn't the hard part," Severus laughed. "The hard part is finding a date and asking the girl to the dance."

"We have to take dates?" Draco asked, his grey eyes briefly flicking over to Hermione before returning to his godfather.

"Well, Harry has to take a date as a champion, but most people will turn up with dates," Severus answered. "But don't tell anyone I told you about this. Dumbledore's planning on making the announcement later in the term. He wants a few weeks of peace before he breaks the news about the Yule Ball and we have to deal with students going all starry eyed as they pick partners."

"Is there any chance I can skip the ball?" Harry asked.

"No," Severus replied with a chuckle. "Now the three of you better get going before you miss your lunch entirely. And Harry, don't stress about the tournament. The second Lucius knows about the first task, we'll let you know. Until then, try and relax."

"Of course," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes at his father. "Why wouldn't I relax? Not only am I entered into a deadly tournament, but now I have to worry about dates for some dance. My life is completely in control, and there isn't anything to worry about."

With a final chuckle, Severus herded the trio out of his office and sent them off to grab some lunch. For the time being, he'd done all he could for Harry. His son was perfectly safe for the moment, and he'd be there waiting at every task to ensure it stayed that way. Nothing was going to happen to Harry, not on his watch.


	11. Chapter 11

Much to Harry's delight, Ron continued with his refusal to talk to him. He remained convinced Harry had entered the tournament himself, and he was even more convinced when the first of Rita Skeeter's articles appeared in the Daily Prophet. Of course Rita had focused the majority of her attention on Harry, and he was featured in her articles far more prominently than the other three champions. With each article that appeared, Ron pulled further away from Harry.

By the time the first Hogsmeade weekend rolled round, Ron still wasn't speaking to Harry. Instead, he'd arranged to head down to the village with Dean, Seamus and Neville. Arrangements were made directly in front of Harry, with Ron deliberately ignoring him. The others all asked Harry if he was joining them, but Harry turned them down. He wasn't going to miss an opportunity to spend time away from Ron. Instead, he and Hermione headed down to the village together.

"I could get used to this," Harry said as he and Hermione casually strolled around the village, sharing a bag of bon-bons from Honeydukes.

"What, being famous?" Hermione asked with a laugh. They'd been down in Hogsmeade for less than an hour and already several people, mainly girls, had asked for Harry's autograph.

"That too," Harry joked, although they both knew he didn't like the attention. "I meant Ron free days."

"It has been nice these last few weeks," Hermione agreed. Since Ron wasn't talking to Harry, and Hermione had stuck by Harry, it meant he'd barely spoken to her as well. That also meant it had been easier for them to sneak away and as a result they'd spent a lot more time than they usually managed in their secret room with Draco.

Enjoying their Ron free trip, the pair continued to stroll around the village arm in arm. Hermione was just asking Harry where he wanted to go for lunch, when he suddenly stopped and peered down a dark alley. Wondering what had caught her nephew's attention, Hermione also took a look down the alley, but she saw nothing.

"I thought I saw a black dog," Harry explained when Hermione asked him why he'd stopped. "A very big, black dog."

"Sirius," Hermione whispered. At the mention of Sirius, her protective instincts had flared up and she was wary of letting Harry out of her sight. She didn't want Sirius to try and snatch Harry, not that he would get anywhere, but she would rather he didn't try.

"Maybe I was wrong," Harry said with a shrug as they moved along.

Seconds later they knew he hadn't been wrong when they both spotted a large dog standing in the shadows behind The Three Broomsticks, watching them. Once the dog knew he had their attention, he turned and began to head up a deserted pathway behind the pub.

"Should we follow?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Hermione replied. "I don't like the idea of going anywhere with him."

"But he can't do anything to me," Harry pointed out. "I'm well protected. There's no way he can snatch me."

"I guess not," Hermione sighed. "I suppose we could always follow and see what he wants."

With the decision made, the pair followed after the black dog. Sirius led them out of the village and up into the nearby countryside. When he darted into a cave in the side of a large hill, Harry and Hermione pulled out their wands before following him. When they entered the cave they found it was quite a spacious area, and it clearly looked as though someone had been living there for a few days at least. Also instead of the dog they'd followed into the cave, Sirius was standing in the centre of the space in his human form.

"Harry!" He cried, bounding forward and pulling Harry into a bone crushing embrace.

"Sirius, what are you doing back?" Harry asked as he extracted himself from Sirius's grasp.

"I saw the news in the paper, and I couldn't stay away," Sirius said, settling down on the blanket he was clearly sleeping on, he gestured for Harry and Hermione to sit down opposite him on some rocks that was like a bench. "I can't believe you're in the Triwizard Tournament, Harry."

"Neither can I," Harry snorted.

"Does Dumbledore know who entered you into the Tournament?" Sirius asked.

"You don't think I did it?" Harry questioned, surprised that Sirius hadn't even asked if he'd entered himself into the tournament.

"Of course not," Sirius scoffed. "Who would think such an idiotic thing?"

"You'd be surprised," Hermione muttered.

Sirius looked momentarily puzzled, before it dawned on him that his godson only had one of his best friends with him. "Ron."

"Yeah, he's not speaking to me," Harry said as he explained what had been happening over the last few weeks. He also explained that while Dumbledore thought Voldemort was behind his name being entered into the tournament, he had no idea who'd actually put his name into the cup.

"I can think of a few possibilities," Sirius said darkly. "You need to be careful Harry. I know Dumbledore believes Snape is on his side, but I don't trust him and neither should you. Then there's Karkaroff."

"The Headmaster of Durmstrang?" Hermione frowned, playing dumb even though she knew he was a Death Eater and friend of Lucius's.

"Yes." Sirius nodded. "He's a Death Eater, only he avoided going to Azkaban. He sold out a pile of his fellow Death Eaters, including Barty Crouch's son."

"Mr Crouch has a Death Eater son?" Harry asked. Now this was new information to both him and Hermione.

"He used to," Sirius answered. "Barty Crouch Jr died in Azkaban. Not that I'm saying Crouch is involved with the Dark Arts, it was his son who was the bad apple. But Karkaroff was a Death Eater, and he avoided a jail term by giving up names of others, not because he turned his back on the dark. And don't forget Lucius Malfoy, I hear he's a judge and has been around the school a fair bit."

"Yeah he has," Harry confirmed.

"Out of everyone, I would say he's your big danger," Sirius said. "Malfoy's good at manipulating people. He's also got a lot of money and that brings influence with it. He was able to talk his way out of ever even having to stand trial, but everyone knows he was a Death Eater. Whatever you do, don't trust him. He's my bet for the one who put your name into the tournament."

"Do you think someone is trying to kill Harry?" Hermione asked.

"I do," Sirius replied with a solemn nod. "I just wish I could be more help, but I'm stuck up here. The only way I can get near to the school is in my dog form. I'll try and be at every task, Harry, but I can't promise anything."

"Just be careful," Harry warned. "You're still a wanted criminal. You don't want to get caught, do you?"

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Sirius replied, giving Harry a reassuring smile. "Besides, I'm sure I'm the least of the Ministry's problems at the minute. They've got someone much more dangerous to deal with."

Harry and Hermione stayed talking to Sirius for another few minutes, before he transformed back into a dog and walked them back down to Hogsmeade. When they parted ways, Harry promised they would visit every time they were in the village. However, the second they were out of sight of Sirius, Harry's happy smile at having his godfather back dropped.

"Do you think we can get him caught?" Harry asked.

"Is there any point?" Hermione questioned. "Unless they give him the kiss, he'll just end up back in Azkaban, and he's already proved he can escape. If he's just imprisoned, he'll just escape again."

"Not if they know how he escaped," Harry argued. "If they know he can turn into a dog, they could protect against it."

"I guess, but like Sirius said, the Ministry have bigger fish to fry now," Hermione replied. "I'm sure they'd still want to recapture him, but he's not a priority. When was the last time you read anything about him in the papers?"

"Before the World Cup," Harry admitted as he thought about what his aunt was saying. Until Voldemort's return, there were frequent articles about Sirius, but since the World Cup the focus had been on his grandfather.

"We can tell someone and see what they say," Hermione suggested. "But it seems to me he's just here to watch over you. Given the situation, it might be a good thing."

"Maybe it is," Harry mused.

He was fairly sure that Sirius would break his cover if he was in danger, and if he did it would mean his father wouldn't have to do the same. They could keep their secret, while Sirius was the one putting himself in the firing line. Although, personally Harry hoped it didn't come to that. As handy as it would be to have Sirius locked up and out of his life, he didn't want to be in any sort of serious danger in the coming months. He just wanted to get through the tournament and get back to his normal life.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

A few hours after returning from Hogsmeade, Harry was in the secret room in the library with Draco. Hermione was in the main body of the library, working on an Arithmancy project with Daphne, and the two boys were making the most of their time alone. There was no homework in sight, and they'd spent the last half hour discussing quidditch and other important things relating to their favourite pastime of flying.

Of course the topic inevitably lead back to the Triwizard Tournament. That led to Harry rejoicing about Ron's major strop, as well as filling Draco in on the fact Sirius was back. After the pair discussed Sirius, Ron and what Harry could potentially be facing in the tasks, they turned their attention to the bombshell Severus had dropped a few weeks earlier. They'd still heard nothing official about the Yule Ball, but they trusted Severus wasn't pulling their legs.

"It's going to be a disaster," Harry groaned. "I mean, can you imagine me dancing?"

"No," Draco laughed.

His best friend was many things, but elegant wasn't one of them. As a pureblood, who was expected to attend formal dances, Draco had learnt to dance properly when he was a child. He had tried to teach Harry and Hermione, but Harry just had two left feet. Hermione had picked it up and was a pretty good dancer, but Harry was just clueless.

"I just feel sorry for your date," He added, still laughing.

"Don't mention the D word," Harry muttered.

"Why not, it should be easy for you to nab a date," Draco pointed out. "After all, you're the famous Harry Potter. The girls will be falling at your feet."

"They are, they're not just not the right sort of girls," Harry said with a sigh.

"You mean, they're not Daphne," Draco said with a smirk. He'd spotted the way Harry had been looking at Daphne before they entered the room, and it was clear his friend's crush was still going strong.

"Daphne will never notice me," Harry said morosely. "By the time I can be myself, she'll have been swept off her feet by some charming bastard. Probably Blaise Zabini, he looks like a flirt."

"He is," Draco confirmed. "Although, I don't think Daphne is the type to fall for his charms."

"She'll fall for someone's, and it won't be me," Harry pouted.

"Look on the bright side, you can always ask the Weaselette to the Yule Ball," Draco remarked, trying to lighten the mood. He understood Harry's frustrations with having to hide his true identity, but moping wouldn't make things any better.

"As if," Harry snorted. "If I ask her, she'll hang around me even more. She's like a bloody limpet as it is. Hell, you ask her. She's still got a crush on your after you saved her life."

"Now that was a mistake," Draco grumbled. "Being hailed a hero wasn't worth having her making gooey eyes at me."

"So no dating Ginny for you?" Harry laughed.

"Hell no," Draco snorted in reply. "I will not be going anywhere near that little psycho. Honestly, I've never seen a girl get so obsessed, and at such a young age."

"So who will you be going with?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," Draco replied with a shrug. Every time he thought of the Yule Ball, he got an image of Hermione in his head, but he knew it was useless. He couldn't ask his best friend to the ball, not if they wanted to maintain their cover.

"We both know who you want to take, don't we?" Harry said, giving Draco a knowing smirk.

Draco rolled his eyes at his friend as he let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll admit it. I want to ask Hermione."

"I knew it," Harry crowed triumphantly. "I knew you fancied her."

"Just a little bit," Draco protested. "And I'm sure it'll pass."

"And I'm sure it won't," Harry replied with a smirk. "I'll bet you ten galleons that the two of you end up together."

"Even with all the secret identity stuff going on?"

"Even with that," Harry answered with a nod. "Besides, you know all about her true identity. You two spend enough time together for it not to be an issue."

Draco didn't argue the point as he rather hoped Harry was right. Now he'd admitted to himself he rather liked Hermione, he was hoping that something would happen between them. He just wasn't sure if she felt the same way. For all he knew she only thought of him as a friend. He would just have to wait and see what developed, and hope things took the romantic turn he desired.


	12. Chapter 12

The last week in October, brought the official announcement about The Yule Ball. Over dinner one evening, Dumbledore got to his feet and announced the ball would be taking place on Christmas Eve. He then explained how the ball was for the fourth years and upwards. Younger students could attend as dates of an older student, but that was the only way they would get to attend the ball. Within minutes of Dumbledore's announcement, the Great Hall was abuzz with anticipation. Several people were already arranging dates and some of the girls were already talking about their dresses for the evening. Days later, it was still all anyone could talk about.

As for Harry, he was trying to avoid the hopeful looks and comments Ginny had started shooting his way the second it became clear she would only be attending the dance was if she was asked by an older student. Harry, however, wasn't at all interested in Ginny. It didn't matter how desperate he got for a date, he wouldn't be asking Ginny to accompany him. He would rather just ask Hermione to attend the ball with him and save himself the hassle of having to deal with a witch with romantic intentions towards him.

Similarly, Draco found himself in a similar situation with Pansy. From the moment the Yule Ball had been mentioned, she'd made it clear she wanted to go with Draco. Draco knew if he did take Pansy to the ball, it would only further her crush on him and give her false hope, and he wasn't going to do that. If he took someone to the Yule Ball, it would be as friends only, and he would make sure the witch he took understood that. He didn't want any unnecessary romantic entanglements, not now he'd acknowledged his feelings for Hermione.

A couple of days after Dumbledore's big announcement, Harry finally found out what the first task was. Lucius had written a letter to Draco, and in it was a mention of the first task. Of course all the talk about the task was written in invisible ink, but the earlier part of the letter had alluded to the hidden content. Instead of revealing the letter himself, Draco had taken it to the secret room in the library and he'd uncovered it with Harry and Hermione at his side.

"Dragons!" Harry exploded when the writing materialised and they read about dragons being involved in the first task. "They can't be serious."

"Evidently, they are," Hermione said as she read all of what Lucius had to say. "Apparently they're using the dragon sanctuary in Romania where Charlie Weasley works. They're shipping four different dragons over within the week."

"And what do I have to do with these dragons?" Harry asked in a quiet voice. Facing dragons wasn't something he'd been expecting, after all, even the seventh years weren't taught how to face a dangerous magical creature like dragons.

"Lucius doesn't know," Hermione answered. "But he thinks it's likely you'll have to find a way past the dragon and retrieve something. He's hoping to find out more before the task."

"So now all we need to do is work out how Harry can defeat a dragon," Draco remarked with a snort. "That should be no problem whatsoever."

"I can't believe this," Harry groaned. "Why dragons?"

"They are a pretty legendary magical creature. I suppose it's a bit of a display, having the champions defeat a dragon each," Hermione said.

"It'll be a fine display when I'm burnt to a crisp," Harry retorted with a sarcastic roll of his eyes.

"Maybe we can find some spells to nullify dragons," Draco suggested.

"Oh, I wonder if we can put it to sleep like we did with Fluffy," Hermione mused.

"Actually, we didn't put the dog to sleep, Quirrell did," Harry pointed out. "We don't even know if the spells we practised would have worked."

"What we need to do is begin some research," Hermione said, undaunted by Harry's correction. "We need to find out how to deal with a dragon."

"I know how to deal with a dragon," Harry muttered. "Stay the hell away from them."

"That isn't exactly an option, is it," Hermione said, giving the boys a sharp glare as they chuckled at Harry's mutterings. "You're going to face this dragon, Harry, so you better be prepared."

"Fine we can do research," Harry conceded.

"Or you could just try flying past it," Draco joked. "Grab a broom and leave it in the dust."

"You think I could outfly a dragon?" Harry asked, beaming proudly at the thought of being good enough to fly faster than a dragon.

"I bet you could with your Firebolt," Draco said. Both he and Harry had received new Firebolts over the summer, but they'd left them at home since they knew there wasn't going to be any quidditch this year.

"Will you two stop it with your flying, it's not the answer to everything," Hermione scolded with an annoyed tut. "Let's get started with the research. And remember, it needs to be done under wraps. We can't have anyone asking why we're researching dragons."

"Don't worry Hermione, we can do clandestine," Draco said with a grin. "No-one will even see us handle a book on dragons."

"Make sure they don't," Hermione warned as she got to her feet and grabbed her bag. "I'm off now. Be careful leaving the room, I saw bloody Moody hanging around the library earlier."

Promising to be careful, the boys shared an amused smirk as Hermione exited the private room. The second she was gone, they turned back to the topic of Harry's Firebolt and debating if he could really out-fly a dragon.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

A week after finding out Harry would be facing a dragon in the first task, Harry and an annoyed Hermione were heading back inside from morning break. Harry had just informed her that he was seriously considering using his Firebolt to get around the dragon and he'd asked Severus to bring it to school. Of course, Hermione thought the whole idea was preposterous and she was determined to find a better solution. However, since they were heading back into school and other people were around, they couldn't exactly talk about it.

Striding into the castle, Hermione was rather annoyed when they reached the Defence classroom and found there was no sign of Moody. The classroom wasn't even open, so everyone was stuck hanging around outside in the corridor. Finally Moody appeared, and let the students into the classroom.

The lesson was a practical one, and Harry and Hermione paired up to practise the newest curse they were learning about. Unfortunately their position landed them next to the Slytherins. Theo and Blaise were occupying the space next to the Gryffindor pair, and all lesson Theo kept making snide remarks about Harry and the fact he would never survive the tournament.

By the end of the class, Harry was well and truly pissed off with Theo and the second they exited the classroom, the pair got into a slanging match. Of course wands were soon drawn and a few hexes were thrown as the rest of the class gathered round to watch the fun. Sharing a quick look, Hermione and Draco entered the fray to break up the fight. While Hermione calmed Harry down, Draco told Theo it wasn't worth getting into a fight and losing a pile of house points. Unfortunately for Draco, he'd had to pull his own wand out to get Theo's attention and as he was gesturing at Harry's back, telling Theo to ignore him, Moody stepped into the corridor to see what the fuss was all about.

"Try to curse someone when their back's turned, I think not," Moody called as he stomped towards Draco.

Before Draco had a chance to reply, Moody had flicked his wand and much to everyone's shock, the blond Slytherin turned into a white ferret. Moody then proceeded to bounce Draco up and down off the stone floor, while the majority of the Gryffindors cackled gleefully. On the other hand the Slytherins looked horrified, and several of them tried to tell Moody he was making a mistake. However, Moody wasn't listening and he continued to torture Draco as he ranted about the etiquette of wizards.

Hermione was absolutely appalled by what she was witnessing, and seeing that Moody wasn't listening to reason she turned and pushed her way through the crowds. Darting around the corner, she breathed a huge sigh of relief when she spotted Professor McGonagall walking down the nearby stairs. Quickly grabbing the Transfiguration Professor, she dragged her back to where Moody was still bouncing Draco off the floor.

"What on earth is going on here?" McGonagall demanded as she pushed her way through the fourth years.

"Just a spot of teaching," Moody replied.

McGonagall's eyes widened in horror as she looked at the tiny creature Moody was hurling around the corridor. "That is a student?"

"A student who needs to learn manners," Moody replied.

"Stop it, this instant," McGonagall ordered in her most terrifying tone of voice. "We do not transfigure students. Turn them back, now."

Moody glared at McGonagall before flicking his wrist and turning the ferret back into Draco. When he did so, Draco had blood running from his mouth and his head and he looked a complete mess. His white blond hair was sticking up all over the place, his clothes were rumpled and untucked and he was less than steady on his feet.

"Mr Malfoy, take yourself off to the hospital wing," McGonagall ordered as she gently shook her head at the sight of the young Slytherin. "And you, come with me," She snapped, turning back to Moody.

Draco hadn't even let McGonagall finish speaking before he turned and fled the scene. Blaise picked up his friend's bag, which had been dropped in all of the commotion.

"Professor," He called, stopping McGonagall before she hurried off with Moody. "Draco didn't do anything. He was breaking up the fight."

"He was going to curse Potter," Moody snapped. "I saw him."

"He wasn't," Theo argued. "He was stopping me cursing him."

"Thank you boys, I'll get to the bottom of this," McGonagall said. "Now all of you run along to lunch."

"Come on," Blaise said to Theo. "Let's go up to the hospital wing to see Draco."

While Blaise, Theo and a few of the other Slytherins headed in the direction of the hospital wing, the Gryffindors turned to head down to the Great Hall. Hermione could hear her fellow housemates laughing about what had happened, and she felt sick. She didn't understand how they could laugh at something that wasn't the slightest bit funny. Draco could be seriously hurt for all they knew, but sadly they just didn't care because he was a Slytherin.

"I'm going to go and find Draco," Hermione whispered to Harry.

"You're going to the hospital wing?" Harry asked in shock.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at her nephew as she gave him a disbelieving look. "You honestly think he went to the hospital wing?"

Thinking about it, Harry conceded that Hermione had a point. Even though he was clearly hurt, he wasn't sure Draco would have went to see Madam Pomfrey. If the same thing had happened to him, all he would have wanted to do was hide away.

"Let's try the library," Harry said. "I'm coming with you."

With everyone at lunch, it was easy for the pair to slip into the library and then into their secret room. As they expected, they found Draco sitting on the sofa. He was sitting with his head leant back against the pillows, and even though his eyes were closed they could see the pain etched all over his face.

"Draco," Hermione whispered softly as she approached her best friend.

"Go away," Draco hissed, wincing with the pain.

"No," Hermione answered. "We won't."

Sitting down next to her best friend, she pulled out her wand and gently began cleaning his head and mouth. Opening his eyes, Draco allowed Hermione to heal his face while Harry perched on the chair nearby.

"Where else hurts?" Hermione asked.

"I'm fine now," Draco answered, trying to make sure the pain he was feeling wasn't showing on his face.

"You really don't look it," Harry said gently. "Let us help, mate."

"Fine," Draco huffed with another wince. "I think I've broken some ribs."

"I can't fix ribs," Hermione said, sounding slightly panicked.

"I'll go and get Dad," Harry said as he stood up. "Don't worry, he won't tell anyone about our secret room," He added when both Hermione and Draco gave him a sceptical look.

"Make sure you're not seen," Hermione called as her nephew exited the room. Turning back to Draco, she gently cupped his face in her hand. "Moody's a bastard. He's going to suffer for this, I promise."

"You're going to avenge me, are you?" Draco asked, his smirk turning into more of a wince. Hermione nodded as her hand slowly trailed down Draco's face and curled around his neck.

"I was so worried," Hermione confessed in a small voice. "I was terrified he was going to seriously hurt you."

"I'm still here, just a bit battered and bruised," Draco replied with a small smile.

"How bruised?" Hermione asked. "Take your shirt off, so I can have a look."

"You just want to get me topless," Draco remarked as he began to unfasten his shirt.

When it was clear it was a bit of a struggle for him to remove his shirt, Hermione took over. Quickly she snapped open the remaining buttons and very carefully she pushed the shirt off Draco's shoulders. Hermione had seen Draco without his top on before, so she was surprised by the flash of desire that ran through her body as she exposed her best friend's torso to her eyes. However, the desire was soon replaced by horror when she spotted the deep purple marking that were already beginning to form on Draco's abdomen and sides.

"Shit, he really did a number on you," She remarked as she gently traced her fingers over the bruising.

"Getting thrown about a stone castle isn't good for your health," Draco muttered. "Especially if you're a bloody ferret at the time."

"The man is a monster," Hermione whispered. Inexplicably she began to tear up as she looked at Draco and the state he was in.

"Don't cry," Draco said softly as he rested his hand on Hermione's cheek. "I'm okay, really."

Hermione nodded, but she didn't quite trust herself to speak without bursting into tears. Instead, she closed the small gap between her and Draco and pressed her lips against his. For a second they both froze at the contact before their lips started moving tentatively together. Draco's hand had just tangled itself in Hermione's hair, while Hermione's hand had re-curled itself around Draco's neck when they heard the door to their secret room opening. Tearing their lips away from one another, they managed to share a quick smile before Harry and Severus entered the room.

"Sweet Merlin," Severus gasped as he got a look at his godson. "The man is a monster."

"Hermione's just said that," Draco said, smiling slightly at how similar the two siblings often were.

"I think you should come back to the dungeons with me, Draco," Severus said. "I can heal your ribs, and you can get some rest. I'm also going to contact Lucius."

"Will he get Moody fired?" Hermione asked.

"Knowing Lucius, he'll try his hardest," Severus answered. "Can you stand, Draco, or do you need help?"

"I think I can manage," Draco replied.

Carefully he got himself to his feet, with Hermione standing close by in case he needed help. Once he was standing, Hermione handed him his shirt, which he took as he gave her a smile.

"We need to talk later," He whispered as he gave her a quick peck on the cheek and thanked her in his normal voice.

Hermione gave Draco a nod in acknowledgment as she watched him exit the room with Severus. Hermione and Harry stayed in the room long enough for Severus and Draco to leave, before they also exited the room and headed down for some lunch. Of course, Draco was the main topic of conversation in the Great Hall, and while some people seemed horrified by Moody's actions, most just found it funny.

When Hermione overheard Ron recounting the story for the twins and Ginny, complete with hysterical laughter from them all, she grabbed her sandwich and stormed out of the Great Hall. Heading outside she slumped down on one of the stone benches beside the castle and let her tears fall. She'd been terrified seeing Draco treated in such a barbaric way, and it made her so angry that so many people found it funny. She didn't see anything funny about turning a young boy into an animal and abusing him.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he sat down beside her and wrapped his arm around her.

"I hate the lot of them," Hermione hissed. "They're all evil. They say Father is a monster, but he's got nothing on that lot."

Harry knew Hermione had been thrown by what had happened to Draco and he knew she was just venting her frustration, so he let her seethe for another few minutes. When she calmed down, he made sure she was back in control before they headed back into the castle for afternoon lessons. Of course, Draco was absent for afternoon lessons, but they were hoping they would be able to see him soon. Hopefully Severus would have patched him up, and hopefully once Lucius got on the case something would be done about Moody and his appalling style of teaching.


	13. Chapter 13

Within an hour of Draco being turned into a ferret, Lucius was up at school causing a fuss. When Dumbledore was less than receptive to his complaints, Lucius brought the Minister on board and what followed was a week's worth of meetings to get some resolutions. Lucius wanted Moody sacked, and Fudge was agreeable as he found the Defence Professor's actions deplorable. However, Dumbledore wasn't giving in so easily and he fought to keep Moody at the school. He agreed his actions were wrong, but he played up the fact they needed his expertise as an ex-Auror given what was happening with The Triwizard Tournament and Harry being mysteriously entered.

Reluctantly, Fudge agreed to let Moody remain on as a Professor, although he vowed that one more wrong move would result in an immediate firing for the former Auror. Lucius wasn't at all happy with the result, but given what was happening with Harry, he didn't cause too much trouble. He may not have liked Moody, but it was good to have extra protection around for Harry. Even though he accepted the decision, Lucius still wanted some retribution so he agreed not to cause a fuss if Moody apologised to Draco in public.

That was how a week after the ferret incident, Moody made a full public apology to Draco in the Great Hall. Lucius was there to witness the apology, and there was no doubt in anyone's mind that both he and Draco were revelling in the fact Moody was forced to apologise and admit he'd been wrong turning Draco into an animal.

A few hours after the apology, Draco arrived in the secret room of the library to find Hermione making notes at the table. While his father had been dealing with Moody, Draco had been confronting his feelings for Hermione and the pair had settled down for an honest discussion. They both admitted to liking each other, and loving the kiss they shared, and they agreed to wait and see what happened between them. Since they were both only young they didn't want to rush into anything serious, but they did make a pact not to see other people as they explored their romance.

"Hey," Draco greeted Hermione as he slid into the chair next to her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm putting together a proposal on the treatment of house elves," Hermione answered, not looking up from her work.

"You're doing what?" Draco asked with a frown. He did wonder if she was doing some sort of school project, but they took the same lessons and they weren't dealing with house elves in any lesson.

"It's for Father, for when he's in control," Hermione explained, putting down her quill and looking up at Draco. "I want him to change the law regarding house elves. I want him to force people to treat them with the respect they deserve."

"For a moment there, I thought you were going to suggest something crazy like freeing them," Draco said with a laugh.

"I'm not that stupid," Hermione snorted. "I know house elves wouldn't want to be freed, they live to serve. I just think in some cases they could be treated with more respect."

"Who do you know that doesn't treat their house elf with respect?" Draco asked in bewilderment. He knew she wasn't talking about her family or his, who all considered their elves as part of the family and treated them really well, and he didn't think the Weasleys had any elves.

"Can you remember the world cup?" Hermione asked. "In our box was an elf belonging to Barty Crouch. The poor thing was terrified of heights, yet Crouch forced her to sit in a high stand and keep a seat for him, then he didn't even bother to show up. He was cruel to that little elf, and I won't stand for it. I don't want house elves to be treated so shockingly. Just because they work for us, doesn't mean we should treat them like dirt."

"You're a proper bleeding heart," Draco said with affection. "Under your tough exterior, beats the heart of a sap."

"I am not a sap, I just care about things," Hermione protested.

"And I think it's great you're fighting for the elves," Draco said. "Count me in. Providing of course you're not going to go over the top and form some sort of pathetic group or something."

"Give me some credit, Draco," Hermione replied with a roll of her eyes. "I don't see any point protesting about the treatment of elves now, I'll only be ignored. I'm just going to record my ideas, and make sure Father implements them when he's in charge. Once we're in control, we turn the wizarding world into a much better place. I might not even stop at house elves, I might look at all magical creatures. Just look at how goblins are treated as lesser citizens."

"Okay, I get it, you're going to stand up for the little people," Draco said with a chuckle.

"Well, the little people that matter. House elves and goblins are pure magical creatures, and deserve to be treated with respect."

"Just as long as you don't start supporting the muggleborns, I don't think even your father will approve of that one," Draco said.

"I wouldn't be so sure on that," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Don't forget, he had no problem with Lily. He wouldn't have done anything to her."

"That was because Severus was in love with her," Draco argued. "And we both know, family comes first for your father."

"I'm still not so sure he's as anti-muggleborn as he claims," Hermione said. "It's all the muggles that know about the wizarding world he objects to. When he's in control, I'd bet you any money he doesn't wipe out the muggleborns. He'll just clamp down on them flitting between two worlds. They're either a part of our world, or part of the muggle world."

"That could be controversial," Draco said.

"It's my father, of course it's controversial," Hermione laughed. "Everything about him is controversial. In some people's eyes, he's pure evil, but in other people's eyes, he's what the wizarding world had been waiting for."

"Or he's a mixture of both," Draco said with a grin. "Let's face it, your father is a dark wizard."

"There's nothing wrong with a bit of darkness," Hermione replied with a smile. "Is there?"

Draco shook his head as he leant forward and gently brushed his lips against Hermione. "I'm a fan of the darkness," He told her, before capturing her lips in a proper kiss.

Finally the pair broke for air, but once they recovered they re-joined their lips and shared another kiss. When they broke apart the second time, they shared a smile as they enjoyed the change in their relationship.

"Do you want me to help with your elf work?" Draco asked. "Or do you have anything else you need to do?"

"I'm finished for the time being," Hermione answered. "All my homework is up to date, and I've stopped with the dragons."

"Why?" Draco asked in confusion. "Don't you want to help Harry?"

"Of course I want to help him, but he's being a stubborn arse," Hermione said with a pout. "He's determined to use his broom to get past the dragon. Nothing I can say will change his mind."

"Maybe it'll work," Draco suggested hopefully. "Harry's a great flyer. I would never admit it in front of him, but I even think he's a better flyer than me."

"I know that Harry is great on a broom, but to try and outfly a dragon is sheer madness," Hermione argued.

"Maybe we could find a list of spells that Harry could use in case things went wrong," Draco said. "We've still got a week before the first task, I'm sure we could sort something."

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, I like that idea. Let's make him a contingency list, at least then he'll have some back up if his plan to outfly a dragon fails."

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

The day of the first task was a surprisingly warm day for the end of November. Over breakfast, Professor Dumbledore explained that everyone watching the task needed to be settled in the arena that had been erected on the quidditch pitch by eleven. As for the champions, they would be heading to the champions tents to prepare for the task. But before that, they were all to head into the ante-chamber just off the Great Hall, where their family would be waiting to see them, before they also watched the task with the students.

"Great," Harry muttered to Hermione as he got to his feet to follow Dumbledore's instructions. "It's not like my family can come and watch is it."

"I'll be here, and so will Severus," Hermione whispered to her nephew as she got up and gave him a hug. "And don't forget Lucius and Draco. You've got support Harry, don't forget it."

"Thank you," Harry replied as he hugged his aunt. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Come up with ridiculous plans," Hermione replied with a mischievous smile as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. "Which reminds me, take this and study it. It's a list of useful spell, just in case your plan fails."

Harry took the parchment and slipped it into his pocket with a grateful smile. He'd been worrying that his plan would fail, but as always Hermione was there to watch out for him. He should have known she wouldn't let him face a dragon without a back-up plan. Thanking her one final time, he gave her another hug before heading off to the ante-chamber to watch the other champions and their families.

When he entered the chamber, he was surprised to be almost knocked off his feet by Molly Weasley. The redheaded woman swept him up in her tight embrace, muttering about how worried she'd been since she heard the news. She then explained that since Harry only had the Dursleys, she asked Dumbledore if she could come and support him as she thought of him as family. Harry smiled politely, but he couldn't help but think how presumptuous Molly was being. She barely knew him, let alone knew him well enough to consider him part of the family.

Luckily, Harry didn't have to put up with Molly for too long before Dumbledore arrived and announced it was time for the champions to head to their champions tent. When they arrived in the tent, the four champions were split up so they could change into clothing more appropriate for a challenge that was going to be quite physical. When Harry was changed, and he returned to the main body of the tent he found Rita Skeeter and her photographer friend hanging around looking for gossip.

"How are you feeling, Harry?" Rita asked with a simpering smile.

"Fine thanks," Harry replied before turning his back on the reporter and sneaking a peek outside of the tent.

From where the tent was located, he had a perfect view of the large arena that had been erected where the quidditch pitch normally stood. However, he was too far away to work out where Hermione and Draco were sitting. He couldn't even make out where the Professors and judges were sitting. He just had to hope that everyone was in place to watch the task and no-one that mattered missed events.

"Mr Potter," Barty Crouch called, drawing Harry's attention back to the tent.

When Harry turned round he found the other champions were present, along with Barty Crouch, Dumbledore, Madame Maxime and Karkaroff. Joining the other champions, Harry listened as Barty Crouch explained their task. He showed them a large golden egg, and explained how each egg was guarded by a dragon and their task was to retrieve the egg. Marks would be awarded on how effectively they bypassed the dragon.

"In this bag are miniature representations of the dragons you will face," Crouch announced as he produced a crimson velvet bag from his robes and held it out. "Miss Delacour, would you like to go first."

Nervously, Fleur reached into the bag and pulled out a small green dragon, which Crouch announced represented a Welsh Green. Cedric went next, pulling out a Swedish Short-Snout. Viktor was then paired with a fiery Chinese Fireball.

"Mr Potter, you have the last dragon," Crouch said, turning the bag towards Harry.

Harry took a deep breath before he reached into the bag and pulled out a fierce looking dragon, which immediately bit his finger. Crouch told him it was a Hungarian Horntail as he put the bag away and explained that the champions would enter the arena one at a time, starting with Cedric and ending with Harry.

Knowing he was going to be going last, Harry settled himself down in the corner of the tent and pulled out Hermione's revision notes. When it was his turn to face the dragon, he wanted to be prepared. He was hoping his flying plan would work, as that was what he was most confident with, but just in case he needed to work on his back-up plans. Whatever happened, Harry was determined to go out and prove to everyone that whoever had entered him into the Tournament had seriously underestimated him if they thought it would kill him. He was far stronger that people realised, and it was time to show what he was made of. It was time to use both his Gryffindor bravery, and his Slytherin cunning in order to get past a dragon and retrieve a golden egg.


	14. Chapter 14

Severus settled into his seat in the newly transformed quidditch stadium with more than a few nerves floating around inside him. Truth be told he was terrified about what lay ahead, and he'd already come very close to grabbing Harry and getting as far away from Hogwarts as he could. Luckily, Lucius had been around all morning and his old friend had made sure he didn't do anything rash.

"It'll be fine," Lucius whispered to Severus as he passed him and settled down a few seats away with the other judges.

Severus hoped his friend was right, and nothing went wrong. If anything happened to Harry, he wouldn't know what to do with himself. His son was his life, and the thought of losing him just wasn't worth thinking about. He'd survived Lily's death by focusing on Harry, but if he lost Harry, he doubted anything would save him.

As he tried to settle his nerves, Severus scanned the crowds for Hermione and Draco. Funnily enough they were each sitting either side of the stand he was sitting in. Draco was in the stand to his left, surrounded by Slytherins, who all looked to be having a whale of a time. Outwardly, Draco looked to be just as exuberant as his friends, but Severus could see the tension in his body language. Meanwhile, Hermione was sitting in the stand to his right, not bothering to hide her fear and nerves. She was sitting in-between Ron and Ginny, and while the two redheads chatted across her, she sat biting her lower lip. Severus could feel the tension coming from his sister, and he couldn't help but think how much easier the experience would be if they could have sat together. He could have done with the comfort she would have provided, and it looked like the same could be said for her.

Severus was distracted from his sister, when Dumbledore suddenly appeared in the stand along with Barty Crouch and the other two heads. As the foursome took their seat, Severus looked down at the stony arena and watched as several dragon handlers delivered a dragon into the centre of the arena. The second the handlers were free of the arena, a cannon sounded and the first task began.

When the first student to appear was Cedric Diggory, Severus sat back in his seat feeling a mixture of relief and anxiousness. He wasn't sure if he was pleased Harry wasn't going first, or if waiting was dragging out the torment. Although he was hoping Harry wasn't last out, it would be downright torturous having to wait so long to see how his son fared.

As luck would have it, Harry was last out. Cedric faced his dragon first, and using some fancy transfiguration work on some rocks, he was able to distract the dragon. Not that he managed to distract it long enough, and he ended up being slashed by its tail and gaining a slight bite as he grabbed the egg. Next up was Fleur, who used some of her veela powers to send the dragon into a trance. Severus wasn't too impressed with her trick, as it didn't display how she handled herself as a witch, she just took advantage of the fact she had veela blood. Krum was third, and in Severus's opinion, he displayed the most magical talent. Krum hit the dragon with a conjunctivitis curse, obscuring the dragon's sight leaving him unsighted as he snatched the egg in pretty swift time.

Finally Harry entered the arena, and Severus feared for his son as he observed the fierce dragon Harry would be facing. The others all seemed a lot tamer in comparison to the Hungarian Horntail, Harry was faced with. As if the dragon wasn't bad enough, Severus was also worried about Harry's plan of action. His son entered the arena looking worried, and when he cast a spell that Severus was too far away to hear, he seemed concerned it hadn't worked. Glancing to his right, Severus spotted Harry's concern echoed on the face of his sister. He knew the pair had been working with Draco on a way to get past the dragon, but it would seem whatever plan they'd come up with had failed.

Severus's concern only grew as the dragon suddenly spotted Harry and made a move towards him. As the dragon blazed out a ferocious mouthful of fire, the entire crowd gasped as Harry darted behind a rock just in time. Sitting beside Severus, McGonagall shook her head and began muttering under her breath how irresponsible Dumbledore was for allowing Harry to take part in the tournament. Severus fully agreed with his colleague, but he also blamed himself. He should have put his foot down and stopped all this nonsense, not that he was sure how he could have achieved that.

As he watched Harry dive around the arena, hiding from the dragon, Severus slipped his hand inside his robes and curled his finger around his wand. Just as he was wondering what spell would help save his son, a broomstick came soaring into the arena. As the broomstick flew past the rock where Harry was sheltering, his son leapt onto the piece of wood and went soaring into the air. The dragon immediately followed, but its large frame couldn't match the acrobats Harry could perform on a broomstick. Harry was flying rings around the dragon, and it was clear the dragon was getting increasingly frustrated by the fact it couldn't catch Harry.

Instead of going straight for the egg and risking the dragon still being alert enough to intervene, Harry chose to lead the dragon on a wild goose chase. Several times Harry and the dragon disappeared from view, but every time they slid back into range, the dragon was losing ground on Harry. After a particularly lengthy absence, Harry suddenly appeared over one of the castle turrets. Flying as fast as Severus had ever seen him, Harry re-entered the arena and soring towards the golden egg, he plucked it from the ground without even stopping.

The arena erupted in screaming and cheering as Harry took a victory lap around the arena. Just as he came into land, the dragon reappeared and practically flopped onto the floor of the arena. While Harry was quickly hurried back to the tent, the dragon handlers entered the arena and made sure the dragon was safely returned to its cage ready for transportation back to Romania.

"I think all four champions need a very large round of applause," Dumbledore announced loudly as the four champions were escorted back out into the arena. "A decision about which champion won the task, will be announced shortly."

As Dumbledore sat back down to discuss things with his fellow judges, Severus took the opportunity to calm his nerves. He also checked on Hermione and Draco to see how they were faring. Hermione looked exhausted, and the relief was written all over her face as she laughed and joked with the other Gryffindors. As for Draco, he was laughing and joking with his friends, but Severus could see the strain had eased from his posture. They'd all managed to get through the task unscathed, and Harry had performed admirably. He couldn't wait to speak to his son and congratulate him properly.

"Now for the results," Dumbledore called, as he got to his feet once again and silence fell in the stadium. "In fourth place, is Miss Fleur Delacour. In third place is Mr Cedric Diggory, and joint first is Mr Viktor Krum, and Mr Harry Potter."

Once again the stadium erupted into cheers, and Severus allowed himself a quick smirk before schooling his features into his normal look of boredom. As the cheers died down, the crowds began to get up and leave. Hoping to grab a quick word with Harry, Severus quickly got to his feet and left the stand. As luck would have it, he managed to grab Harry just as he was entering the champions' tent.

"That was pretty impressive," He told his son, making sure to keep his voice down so no-one could overhear.

"Thanks," Harry replied with a relieved smile. "For a minute there, I thought it wasn't going to work."

"It worked brilliantly," Severus said. "I'm proud of you, Harry."

Severus just had time to tell Harry to enjoy his celebrations, before the crowds got a bit too close for comfort and they were forced to separate. However, Severus had managed to speak to his son, and that brief interaction would sustain him until they could talk properly.

"There you are," Lucius said as he caught up with Severus as they were entering the castle. "I thought we could go for a drink. I don't know about you, but I could do with one after that."

"A drink sounds perfect," Severus replied. "Let's just head down to The Three Broomsticks."

"The Three Broomsticks?" Lucius frowned. "What's wrong with The Hog's Head?"

"I prefer The Three Broomsticks," Severus replied with a casual shrug.

Fifteen minutes later, Lucius knew exactly why his friend had chosen the cosier pub in the village. It had nothing to do with the state of the pub, or the quality of the drink, it was purely down to the landlady, Rosmerta. The second Lucius witnessed his friend interacting with the landlady, he understood what the appeal of the place was for Severus. His friend had a thing for the pretty blonde landlady, and judging from the flirtatious smiles she was throwing Severus's way, the feeling was mutual.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

It took Harry longer than he would have liked to get back to Gryffindor Tower, but eventually he managed it. After the task, Madam Pomfrey checked each champion for injury before they could get changed. They then all had to give a brief interview to Rita Skeeter, although Harry really wasn't sure why they were bothering. The woman just wrote what she wanted, and she never bothered to listen to the answers to her questions. As if that wasn't bad enough, the champions were then allowed to see their families again, and for Harry that meant getting swamped by Molly Weasley and listening to her gush over how amazing he was. However, finally it was all over and Harry found himself outside of Gryffindor Tower, his golden egg under his arm.

"Ah, here's the hero," The Fat Lady gushed, giving Harry a wide smile. "Well done, Harry."

"Thanks," Harry said, muttering the password.

The second the portrait swung open and he entered the common room, Harry was greeted by a wave of clapping and cheering. Making his way through the crowds, he had his hand shaken by several people, while several others clapped him on the back and congratulated him.

"Impressive stuff, Harry," Fred said with a wide grin. "Although we had faith in you all the time, didn't we George?"

"Of course," George replied. "We knew you could do it, Harry."

"Yes, we did," Hermione said as she stepped up beside her nephew.

"Hermione." Harry swept Hermione into his arms the second he saw her. Even though he'd gone with his flying plan, he'd had several of her recommended charms running around in his head, ready to use as back-up.

"I was so worried," Hermione admitted quietly. "That was the scariest thing I've ever witnessed."

"It was the scariest thing I've ever done," Harry said with a shaky laugh as he and Hermione broke apart.

"It might have been scary, but you were brilliant," Ginny enthused, before she flung herself at Harry.

Harry was so taken aback by Ginny's hug that he dropped the egg, causing the top to twist round and an awful wailing sound to emerge. Everyone in the common room clapped their hands over their ears to drown out the noise, while Harry picked the egg up and hastily closed it.

"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron's voice called as he hesitantly approached Harry.

"You're talking to me again, are you?" Harry asked, unable to keep the snappish tone out of his voice.

"Sorry about that," Ron said sheepishly. "I was being an idiot."

"Nothing new there," Fred and George muttered simultaneously.

Ron shot his brothers an unimpressed look, before turning back to Harry. "I'm so sorry, Harry. I was a moron. I know you didn't enter that tournament willingly. I never should have said the things I did. I hope I haven't blown our friendship."

Harry was awfully tempted to tell Ron where to stuff his friendship, but considering they still didn't know how long they would have to keep up their act, he accepted Ron's apology. "Let's just forget it ever happened."

"Nothing like this will ever happen again," Ron vowed. "In the future, I will always be by your side."

"So what is the egg?" Hermione asked, breaking into the conversation. She'd heard enough of Ron's grovelling, and was guessing so had Harry.

"A clue as to the next task," Harry answered. "It'll be in February, so we've got until then to work out what on earth the thing is."

"Maybe you should open it again," Hermione said.

"No!" Ron, the twins and everyone else who was nearby all called out.

"It wasn't exactly very pleasant, Hermione," Harry said to his pouting aunt.

"Pleasant of not, it's a clue and you'll have to decipher it," Hermione argued.

"Yeah, but not yet," Ron said. "Tonight, we should celebrate Harry's triumph. He won the first task alongside Krum. Forget about the next task for one night, and let's have fun."

"I'm all up for that," Harry said with a grin. After the day he'd had, relaxing and just hanging out sounded like the perfect way to end the day.

"Fine," Hermione said as a smile crept over her lips. "Let's celebrate."

And celebrate was exactly what all of Gryffindor Tower did for the rest of the day. Harry was their hero, and he spent the rest of the day being fussed over as people celebrated his victory in the first task and speculated about whether he could win the entire thing. After all he was Harry Potter, and if anyone could win the Triwizard Tournament as an underage wizard, it would be him.


	15. Chapter 15

After the successful completion of the first task, Harry found himself the subject of even more attention than he normally received. However, he found it easier to deal with as most people just wanted to wish him luck in the tournament. Obviously witnessing the first task made people appreciate just how tough the tournament was, especially for an underage wizard like himself.

Of course the first task also brought Ron back into his life. Now the redhead had gotten over his jealousy issues, he was back to being as clingy as he normally was. He'd proudly retaken his spot as Harry's best friend, and was acting as though the last few months hadn't happened. Of course it impacted on the amount of free time Harry had, but he'd always known that Ron would be back, so he hadn't banked on having so much time he could spend with Hermione and Draco for the entire year.

A few days after the first task, it was time for a Hogsmeade visit. Ron was obviously eager to head down to the village with Harry, and he was more than a bit surprised when Harry and Hermione took him up into the nearby hills, where they met up with Sirius. Sirius congratulated Harry on his participation in the first task, and he described how he'd watched from afar in his dog persona.

No sooner had the Hogsmeade visit taken place, then people's attention turned to The Yule Ball. McGonagall gathered the Gryffindors and arranged for them to have dance lessons a few evenings a week. People also started organising dates for the big night. While the older students paired off without a fuss, things were moving slower with the younger students as for many of them this was their first foray into romance.

Much to Harry's annoyance, Ginny had increased the amount of time she spent hanging around him, and she'd even started to drop hints about accompanying him to the Yule Ball. However, Harry was having none of it and had taken to blatantly ignoring the redhead. As for Ron, he was mooning over Hermione, but he didn't have the guts to ask her out. Part of Harry thought it would be interesting to see what would happen if he did, but another part of him recognised that it wouldn't be a good idea and would only create problems they didn't need right now.

Harry himself wanted nothing more than to ask Daphne Greengrass to the Yule Ball, but he knew it wasn't possible. Not only was she a Slytherin, and considered him to be on the light side, but she didn't even notice his existence. Even though he knew he couldn't ask her, he still found himself watching her from afar. Even when he took up residence in the library a few tables away from her, she still didn't seem to notice he existed.

Harry had been watching Daphne one evening in early December, and when she packed up and left the library, he headed off to the secret room. Draco and Hermione had disappeared off into the room earlier, but Harry had hung around in the main part of the library to supposedly give them some privacy. As for Ron, he was in detention with Severus for spilling a jar of newt eyes all over the Potions classroom that morning.

Harry entered the room slightly unsure of what he would find, but he breathed a sigh of relief when everything was as it normally was. Hermione and Draco were sitting on the sofa together, bickering over something or other. To be honest if Harry didn't know that things had recently changed between them, he never would have guessed.

"Has Daphne gone back to the dungeons?" Draco teased when Harry sat down in the chair opposite them.

"How would I know?" Harry replied with a casual shrug.

"Maybe because you've been sitting out there for the past hour, drooling over her," Hermione laughed.

"I was not drooling," Harry argued, glaring at his aunt. He always hated it when Hermione and Draco ganged up on him, although he suspected it would be happening more often now things had turned romantic between them.

"If you say so, Harry," Draco replied with a roll of his eyes.

"What have you two being up to?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"Nothing much," Draco answered.

"Just talking," Hermione added.

"You mean you weren't moping over how you can't go to the Yule Ball together?" Harry asked with a smirk.

"It's one dance," Draco said with a shrug. "I'm sure in the future we'll have plenty of opportunity to attend such events together."

Harry studied Draco for a minute, before shaking his head at his friend's nonchalance. "I don't buy it. Sure, you're all cool now, but what happens when Hermione turns up at the ball with some other guy. I don't believe you won't be the slightest bit jealous."

"I guess that depends on the guy," Draco said. Frowning he turned to Hermione, and asked her who she was going to the Yule Ball with.

"I don't know," Hermione answered with a shrug. "Viktor Krum approached me a few days ago, and I thought he was going to ask me, but we were interrupted and I haven't seen him since."

"You can't go with Krum," Draco exploded. "He's far too old."

"There's always Ron," Harry offered helpfully. When Draco turned to glare at him, he merely chuckled at his friend's obvious jealousy.

"Why would I go to the ball with Ron?" Hermione asked.

"It's clear he wants to ask you, he just can't summon the courage," Harry said.

"Git," Draco hissed. "You can't go with him either, Hermione."

Hermione turned to the blond and gave him a withering stare. "Are you seriously trying to dictate who I can attend the ball with?"

"I'm just trying to make sure you don't go with a complete loser," Draco hurriedly answered. "Or someone who's far too old for you. Imagine poor Severus if you turned up with Krum, he'd have a heart attack."

"I t could be worth you going with Krum just to see Dad's reaction," Harry laughed. He didn't think his father knew of the romantic twist in Hermione and Draco's friendship yet, but he figured it would be fun when he found out, therefore it could be fun to see how he would react to his little sister on a date with someone a few years older.

"I've got it," Draco suddenly announced, a grin breaking out on his face.

"What have you got?" Harry asked.

"The solution to all of our problems," Draco replied. "You two can go to the ball together. That keeps Weasley and Krum away from Hermione, and it gets Harry away from the Weaselette."

"How do you know Ginny's being hanging around?" Harry questioned his friend.

"I'm not blind, Harry," Draco snorted. "I'm sure the whole school has seen the way she's been sniffing around you."

"Draco actually has a point," Hermione said thoughtfully. "I don't really want to go with someone else, and I'm sure you don't want to go around encouraging girls you're not interested in. Because let's face it, whoever you ask is going to think they have a chance with you."

"You could be right," Harry conceded with a nod. He wouldn't ask Ginny if she was last girl alive, but even if he'd asked someone else he would have had to deal with them thinking he was interested in them.

"So it's settled then, you two are going to the ball together," Draco announced with a relieved sigh. At least if Hermione attended the ball with Harry, he didn't have to spend the night worrying about her date trying to sweep her off her feet.

"Not so fast, I want something in return," Harry said. "I agree taking Hermione is the best solution, but it also benefits you. Now you have to do something for me."

"What do you want?" Draco asked warily. It wouldn't be the first time he'd agreed to help Harry and it had landed him in trouble.

"I want you to ask Daphne to the ball," Harry said. "I know she doesn't even notice me, and I don't know how long we'll have to hide our true identity, but I am hoping to one day have a chance with her. But that can't happen if she lands herself a boyfriend."

"And what if she decides I'm asking her because I like her?" Draco queried. He'd already decided not to ask Pansy as he didn't want to encourage her crush on him, and he didn't want Daphne to also develop feelings for him.

"Make it clear you're asking her as a friend," Harry replied. "Tell her you don't want to ask Parkinson because she's an obsessed head case. Tell her you want to go with someone you can have fun with and not worry about stupid romantic feelings."

"What a way with words you have, Harry," Draco drawled, rolling his eyes at his friend. "I'll ask her. Although, I think I'm going to find a better way to say what you recommended. I don't think calling Pansy an obsessed head case with help matters along since Daphne is her friend."

"I'm sure you can turn on the charm and convince her," Harry said, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Just, don't use too much charm," He warned.

"Don't worry, I have no interest in Daphne," Draco reassured his friend. "My interest is very firmly elsewhere."

"As it should be," Hermione said, giving Draco a smile.

Just as the pair leant forward to share a kiss, Harry jumped to his feet and stuck his hand in between them. "There'll be none of that in my presence. Really, the last thing I want to see is my aunt and best friend slobbering all over each other."

"We do not slobber," Hermione replied with an indignant huff.

"Even so, save it for when you're alone," Harry said. "Although," He mused, a mischievous thought suddenly entering his head. "Before you do anything, I really should have a man to man chat with Draco."

"What the hell about?" Draco asked. "Because if you want to give me a sex talk, Father did that last year."

"Really?" Harry was momentarily distracted by the news and he wondered why Draco hadn't mentioned it earlier. "Dad's never given me one. And why didn't you mention it earlier?"

"I've being trying to repress the memories," Draco answered with a shudder. "Father got all distracted, and before I knew what was happening he started reminiscing about his past with Mother. Frankly, I now know more than any child should ever know about their parents' sex lives."

Harry and Hermione both laughed, as they imagined Lucius sharing too much with his son. Knowing Lucius, he'd probably done it deliberately to mess with Draco. Despite what most people thought of Lucius, in private he was a humorous man and he was always up for a laugh and a joke.

"Maybe I'm pleased I've never had the talk," Harry said as his laughter died down. "Not that I was going to give you a sex talk, I just wanted to talk to you about Hermione."

"What about me?" Hermione asked. "If this involves me, I want to be included."

"I just want to give Draco a friendly warning," Harry said, turning to his friend as a deadly smile graced his lips. "You might be my best friend, but Hermione is my family. If you hurt her, I'll make you regret it."

"Harry," Hermione hissed, not at all impressed with her nephews' threat.

However, Draco wasn't as concerned and he gave Harry a solemn nod. "I won't hurt her, you have my word."

"Good," Harry said, his face breaking into his normal smile. "I'd hate to have to kick your arse."

"Please, if anyone's getting their arse kicked, it'll be you," Draco shot back. "We both know, you can't take me."

"Is that a challenge?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, it is not," Hermione insisted as she stood up and pulled Harry away from Draco. "The pair of you are too good of friends to fight over a girl, even if that girl is me. Harry, I appreciate you looking out for me, but there really will be no need to hurt Draco. Firstly, I trust that he won't hurt me, and secondly, if he does, I'm more than capable of inflicting a world of pain on him."

Harry and Draco shared a meaningful look, knowing Hermione was right. Any threat Harry could level at Draco could be carried out even more efficiently by Hermione. Of the three of them she was quite possibly the most dangerous one, and both boys had learnt at an early age that it was better not to cross the fiery witch.

With potential fights averted, and everyone knowing where they stood, the trio said their goodbyes as they parted for the evening. While Draco headed back down to the dungeons to find Daphne and ask her out, Harry and Hermione returned to Gryffindor Tower. When they arrived in the common room, they found Ron was back from his detention and was sitting with to the boys in their year.

"Hey Harry, Hermione," Neville greeted as the pair joined the group.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked. "Why all the serious faces."

"We're discussing the Yule Ball and how hard it is to find dates," Seamus grouched. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to approach a girl and ask her out?"

"I can't say that I do," Hermione replied.

"It's not that hard," Harry said with a dismissive snort.

"Have you done it?" Neville asked eagerly. "Have you asked a girl to the Yule Ball?"

"I have a date," Harry confirmed with a grin. Part of him was looking forward to seeing Ron's reaction when he found out who his date was.

"Who?" Ron asked.

"The lovely, Hermione," Harry said, throwing his arm around his aunt.

"What?" Ron yelled, turning red in the face as he looked at Harry with his arm slung over Hermione's shoulder.

"I didn't know you two liked each other," Dean said, looking and sounding surprised by the development.

"We don't, not like that," Hermione answered as she shrugged Harry's arm off her. "We're attending as friends."

"That doesn't count, Harry," Seamus tutted. "Asking your best friend to the Yule Ball, isn't the same as asking a girl you fancy."

"Yeah, but it's so much simpler," Harry replied with a shrug. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Ron sulking and he wondered if it would lead to him refusing to talk to him again. "This way, I know I'm going to have a fun time because I'm going with someone I know I can have fun with. It's easier than letting my night be ruined by romantic nonsense."

"You may have a point there," Dean mused thoughtfully. "Why worry about romance when we're still only fourteen. I say we should forget about girls and just attend as a group. We can have fun, and I bet we can still grab a dance with a pretty girl on the night."

"I'm up for that," Neville said with an eager nod.

"Yeah, it sounds like fun," Seamus agreed. "Ron, you in?"

Ron shot Harry and Hermione a dirty look before nodding his head. "I'm in. Who needs girls anyway, they're just a waste of time."


	16. Chapter 16

Hermione found herself surprisingly nervous as she got ready for the Yule Ball. Even though she was going with Harry, not Draco as she would have loved, she was still nervous about the night ahead. It was the first time she'd ever attended anything like this, and she was hoping nothing went wrong. As one of the champions, Harry was expected to partake in the first dance and she knew her nephew wasn't exactly a talented dancer. Hopefully they would get through the night without too much damage.

While Hermione was getting ready on one side of the room, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil were giggling together over the other side. Hermione had heard both girls mention dates, but she didn't know who they were going with as apart from Harry, all the other Gryffindor boys in their year were going as a group.

"Wow, Hermione," Parvati suddenly gasped, looking across the room and spotting their normally reserved dorm mate. "You look amazing."

"Thank you," Hermione replied with a smile.

For the last week there'd been extra trips to Hogsmeade for people to sort their outfits. Hermione had tried on a few dresses and fancy robes, before settling on a sweeping emerald green dress. The dress was a bit more fitted that what she would normally wear at school, but it was a special occasion and she wanted to look her best. She'd even taken the time to tame her curls and pin them up with a silver rose clip.

"Harry is very lucky," Lavender agreed. "You look gorgeous."

Hermione was slightly taken aback by the compliment from Lavender, as she'd never really gotten along with the other witch. However, tonight wasn't the night for petty rivalries, so she thanked Lavender and returned the compliment. Not that she was lying as both Lavender and Parvati looked stunning in their outfits. Lavender was in an ice blue dress, which emphasised her growing cleavage, while Parvati was wearing a gorgeous pink sari style dress.

While Parvati and Lavender added a few more finishing touches to their outfits, Hermione checked she had everything she would need in her small silver clutch bag before heading off to the common room. When Hermione arrived in the common room she found Ginny curled up in the corner beside the fire, Crookshanks lying on her knee as the redhead absentmindedly stroked him.

"You look nice," Ginny said sadly.

Even though Ginny wasn't Hermione's favourite person, she felt slightly sorry for the redhead. As a third year she couldn't attend the Yule Ball without a date, and no-one had asked her. Obviously she'd tried her luck with Harry, but he hadn't been interested. When Ginny found out he was going to the dance with Hermione, she'd turned her focus to Neville, Dean and Seamus, but by that point they'd already made their pact to attend as a group. When it became clear she wasn't going to get a date, Ginny had then written home to tell her parents she would be home for the holidays. With the Yule Ball taking place, no-one who wasn't attending had stayed at school. Unfortunately Molly and Arthur had made plans to go away for the holidays, and for some reason they seemed unwilling to change their plans to accommodate their daughter. Instead Ginny was stuck at school while her parents were off enjoying their Christmas together.

"Thanks," Hermione replied. "I'm really sorry you can't come, Ginny."

"These things can't be helped," Ginny replied, shrugging her shoulder as she got to her feet, still holding Crookshanks. "I think I'm going to go and curl up and read. You don't mind if I take Crookshanks with me, do you?"

"Feel free," Hermione said, reaching out and stroking her cat's head as Ginny walked past her.

Less than a minute after Ginny had left the common room, Harry arrived. Harry's casual greeting died on his lips when he saw his aunt. He'd never seen Hermione look as elegant, and he could just imagine how Draco would react when he spotted her.

"Cat got your tongue, Harry?" Hermione teased.

"Wow, you're gorgeous, Hermione," Harry said. "If things were different, I might be tempted to treat this date as the real thing."

"Eeww." Hermione turned her nose up in disgust. "Let's not say anything like that again, and head downstairs. Didn't McGonagall want to talk to the champions about the first dance?"

"Don't remind me," Harry groaned as they headed out of the common room.

When they reached the ground floor, they found students heading into the Great Hall in high spirits, while McGonagall was trying to keep the flow of traffic moving steadily.

"Check out McGonagall's outfit," Harry snickered. McGonagall was wearing a tartan print set of robes, with a matching witch's hat.

"Very Scottish," Hermione giggled.

"Ah Mr Potter," McGonagall called as she got her eye on Harry. "Can you and Miss Granger, pop into that classroom over there." McGonagall briefly paused and pointed them in the right direction, before refocusing on her task of herding the students into the Great Hall. "I'll be in shorty to get you sorted."

When Harry and Hermione entered the room McGonagall had pointed them towards, they found Cedric was already present with his date for the evening, Cho Chang. Minutes later Fleur entered with her date, the Ravenclaw quidditch captain, Roger Davies. Finally Viktor sauntered into the room with a Slytherin seventh year on his arm.

"Now then, let's get organised," McGonagall announced as she entered the room nearly ten minutes later.

For the next ten minutes, McGonagall explained how the evening would run. Basically once they'd participated in the first dance, the champions were free to enjoy the rest of the evening. McGonagall also promised them that after a few hours of formal dancing, the evening would take a different twist as a well-known band would be performing.

"I wonder who it is," Harry said as they lined up ready to enter the Great Hall.

"I heard it was The Weird Sisters," Cho said from directly in front of Harry and Hermione.

"Cool," Harry replied with a grin.

Before the conversation could continue, McGonagall announced it was time to get going. Hermione and Harry were the last couple to enter the Great Hall, and when they did they both noticed Draco's reaction. He was standing with Daphne, and the second he spotted Hermione, his eyes widened and he openly gazed at her. As well as noticing Draco's reaction, Harry also took the time to notice Daphne. She was wearing a pale lilac dress and her long blonde hair was hanging loose around her shoulders.

"Pay attention, Harry," Hermione whispered as they took their positions for the first dance.

"Sorry, but she's so lovely," Harry replied.

"Stop drooling, and concentrate on making sure you don't break my foot," Hermione retorted.

Harry grinned back at his aunt as the music started. Despite Harry's lack of dance ability, their dance went pretty smoothly. They weren't as elegant as the other couples, but they still managed to get through the dance without any major incident. By the end of the song, other couples had taken to the dance floor, but the second he could, Harry led Hermione off the dance floor and over to where the Gryffindor boys had gathered.

"Nice dance," Seamus sniggered. "Very stiff."

"Hey, blame Harry," Hermione protested. "He's got two left feet."

"No-one was blaming you, Hermione," Dean said with a chuckle. "But its obvious Harry isn't a dancer."

"I'll hold my hands up to that," Harry said, joining in the laughing.

"You look hot by the way, Hermione," Seamus said, throwing Hermione a grin. "Do you want to dance?"

"I'd love to, Seamus," Hermione replied, ignoring the glare Ron was throwing the Irish boy's way. She hadn't missed the fact that Ron hadn't even said hello, he'd just stood glaring moodily at her and Harry.

After dancing with Seamus, Hermione found herself sharing a dance with both Dean and Neville. Ron had settled himself at a table and it was clear he wasn't planning on dancing at all that evening. Harry had sat down next to Ron, but he kept getting up to talk to different people, and of course he was keeping an eye on Daphne.

The Slytherins had settled themselves over the other side of the room, but it was clear they were having a good time. It looked as though they'd all come partnered up, but they were taking it in turns to dance with one another. Harry watched in amusement as Draco swept all the girls around the floor, looking far more elegant than Harry had managed. Daphne also appeared to be able to dance, and when she was with Draco she looked particularly stunning.

"I don't think I like how good they look together," Hermione muttered as she came up behind Harry. He'd left Ron chatting to Neville a few minutes ago and was standing at the drinks table, watching Draco and Daphne twirl around the floor.

"Is someone jealous?" Harry teased, looking over his shoulder at his aunt.

"I am not jealous," Hermione insisted as she continued to watch Draco and his date.

"Looks like it," Harry snickered.

"Shut up," Hermione retorted, giving Harry a slight slap on the arm. "Now help me think of a way to separate them and get him outside, alone."

"Why don't you just try going out for a spot of fresh air," Harry suggested. "I can guarantee, he'll follow you. He's barely taken his eyes off you all night."

Hermione didn't know if Harry's simple plan would work, but she figured it was worth a shot. Raising her voice slightly, she told Harry she was going for some air, before slipping out of the Great Hall and heading into the courtyard that was decorated in the same ice and snow decorations as inside. Even though there were other people in the courtyard, they weren't paying any attention to Hermione.

Slipping in between a couple of trees, which shielded her from anyone else's view, Hermione waited to see if Harry had been right. Less than a minute later, her nephew was proved right when Draco came casually sauntering out of the castle. When he looked around and couldn't see her, his face fell, but Hermione stepped into the light just enough for the handsome blond Slytherin to get his eye on her.

"Hey," He greeted, rushing over to her and manoeuvring them so they were hidden in the shadows of the castle. For anyone to see them, they would have to be almost directly in front of them.

"Hey," Hermione replied. "Are you having fun?"

"I am now," Draco answered, grinning at Hermione. "You look amazing by the way. I can't believe I'm jealous of my best friend."

"If it's any consolation, I think he's also jealous of you," Hermione said. "You and Daphne make quite the stunning pair."

"She's not my type," Draco said. "Besides, I've caught her eyeing up Harry several times already."

"Really?" Hermione asked, her face breaking into a surprised grin. She didn't think Daphne had even noticed Harry existed, let alone noticed him enough to be eying him up.

"I think she's really just noticed him tonight," Draco replied. "While the others were laughing at Harry's quite frankly stiff and pathetic dancing, Daphne thought it was cute. I managed to get her to confess that she wouldn't mind one dance with him."

"Maybe one day," Hermione said. "Just like you and I will have to wait to share a dance together."

"I don't know about that," Draco said, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist. "It's not very loud, but you can hear the music from here. So, do you want to dance?"

"Go on then," Hermione replied as she wrapped her own arms around Draco's neck and the pair began to sway to the distant sounds of the music coming from the Great Hall.

After a few minutes the pair forgot about their supposed dance as their lips inched towards each other. When their lips finally met, they stopped moving and gave in to the passion simmering between them. With their bodies pressed close together, the pair hungrily moved their lips in perfect sync. When Draco deepened the kiss, Hermione pressed herself even closer to him as she ran her fingers through his soft blond hair. Finally the pair parted, both of them panting slightly at the intensity of their kiss.

"Wow, that was pretty hot," Hermione whispered.

"Yeah, it was," Draco replied.

The pair looked at each other for a second, before crashing their lips back together. After another heated kiss, during which Draco's hands had fallen to Hermione's backside, the pair reluctantly pulled away from each other again.

"I hate to say this, but we should be getting back," Hermione sighed, not wanting to move from Draco's embrace.

"Yeah," Draco agreed with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. "You go first, and I'll follow you in a few minutes."

Hermione briefly brushed her lips against Draco's one final time, before she straightened herself out and darted back out of the cover of the castle and trees. Heading back into the castle, she failed to notice her brother standing over the other side of the courtyard, watching her with curiosity. When Draco then appeared from the same hidey-hole and followed Hermione into the castle, Severus's curiosity turned to understanding. Although, it now looked as though he had to have a chat to his godson about making sure he treat his little sister right.

Not long after Hermione and Draco's secret rendezvous in the courtyard, the mood inside the Great Hall changed. The orchestra that had been playing, finished up and exited the make-shift stage and a new band began to set up for their act. When people realised it was indeed The Weird Sisters getting ready to play, the excitement in the room grew even stronger. By the time the group began their first song, the gathered students were well and truly ready to party.

The Weird Sisters played for a couple of hours, before they were replaced by a radio playing songs people could dance to again. The end of the evening was very much for the couples of the night, and several people headed up to bed once The Weird Sisters had finished playing. Since they weren't a couple, Harry and Hermione decided to call it a night and they headed back up to Gryffindor Tower with a group of other Gryffindors.

"Thank you for being my date," Harry said to Hermione, once they were back in the common room and they were saying goodnight. "I had a great time."

"So did I," Hermione replied with a smile.

Of course she'd enjoyed every second of her encounter with Draco, but she'd also had a fun time with her nephew and the other Gryffindors. Even Ron had loosened up by the end of the evening and had stopped sulking. All in all it was a great night, and the perfect way to get into the Christmas spirit.


	17. Chapter 17

After the excitement of the Yule Ball, Draco found himself wishing he could go home. The holidays were the only time he could really spend any decent amount of time with Harry and Hermione. During term time they just had to grab the odd hour here and there, but during the holidays they could spend whole days together. However, he'd spoken to Severus about going home and attending the Yule Ball before the holidays, but his godfather had informed him he could do one or the other. Anyone who stayed for the Yule Ball, remained at Hogwarts for the rest of the holidays.

Obviously Draco had chosen to attend the Yule Ball, but that also meant he missed spending the holidays at home. Christmas lunch was a spectacular affair in the Great Hall, and while the house elves had outdone themselves with the feast they'd prepared, Draco missed the Christmas lunch he would have had at home.

The other down side to spending the holidays at Hogwarts, was the lack of Harry and Hermione. Because it was the holidays, they both found it practically impossible to sneak away. Even Hermione, who normally found it easier to grab a few hours away from Gryffindor Tower, struggled with her excuses as the library was only open a few hours each day, and on several days it hadn't even opened at all. As such, Draco really hadn't seen a lot of his friends since the night of the Yule Ball, and he didn't really expect to see them much before school restarted in the New Year.

A few days after the Yule Ball, Draco had left his Slytherins friends down in the dungeons, while he went for a walk. He had been hoping to bump into either Harry or Hermione, but the closest he came was stopping for ten minutes to pet Crookshanks. Eventually deciding he wasn't going to be lucky enough to run into his friends, Draco headed back down to the dungeons. Just as he entered the dungeons, his godfather appeared out of nowhere and asked if they could talk.

"Where on earth did you spring from?" Draco asked as he followed Severus back to his office.

"I sometimes think you forget how well I know the dungeons," Severus chuckled. "Not only have I been teaching here for nearly fifteen years, but I attended school for seven."

"Yeah, but you were hardly the sneaking around sort in school," Draco argued as he shut the door to Severus's office behind him. "Now Father on the other hand, I bet he did some sneaking around in his time."

"I'm sure he did," Severus agreed with a nod.

"You know, you never answered me," Draco said, casually settling himself down in front of Severus's desk. "Where did you come from? You seemed to appear from nowhere."

"I came out of an alcove at the bottom of the stairs," Severus replied. "There's a back passageway connecting the alcove to an outside door."

"And where were you sneaking off to?" Draco teased. As he looked at his godfather, he realised for the first time that he wasn't in his usual robes, he was just wearing a shirt and a pair of trousers. "Although, on second thoughts, where were you sneaking back from? You look awfully dressed up, Severus."

Severus awkwardly pulled at the collar of his crisp dark blue shirt as he sat down in a chair beside Draco. "I wasn't sneaking anywhere," He replied. "And I'm not dressed up. The shirt was a Christmas present from Beth."

"If I didn't know any better I would say you'd been seeing a woman," Draco deduced with a laugh. "Does Harry know his father's got a girlfriend?"

"My love life is not the reason I called you in here," Severus replied.

Draco smirked when he realised that Severus hadn't denied his claims, he'd just diverted attention away from the topic. "So why did you want to talk to me?"

"I want to talk about Hermione."

"What about her? She's okay, isn't she?" Draco asked, suddenly siting up.

"She's perfectly okay," Severus replied, chuckling softly when Draco slumped back in his chair in relief. "I just want to know what your intentions are towards her."

"My intentions?" Draco choked out, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable under his godfather's stare.

"Yes, your intentions," Severus repeated, trying to hide his amusement at how nervous Draco looked. "And before you say anything, don't try telling me you're just friends. I've known for a while things were changing between you, and what I saw at the Yule Ball just confirmed my suspicions."

"What exactly did you see?" Draco asked warily.

"Enough to know you're no longer just friends," Severus answered. "So, are you going to answer my question, Draco? Just what are your intentions towards my little sister?"

"I don't really know," Draco stuttered out. "We've kissed a few times, but it's not like we can openly date one another. But I really like her, Severus, as more than a friend. I would never hurt her, you know that."

"I do, I just needed to hear it confirmed," Severus replied. "But I do have one warning for you, Draco. You may be my godson, and I care a lot about you, but Hermione is my little sister. If you do hurt her, I'll make you regret it. If you break my sister's heart, I'll break your legs. Understood?"

Draco gulped nervously as he quickly nodded his head. "I understand." Even though Harry had given him the exact same warning, it was a lot more threatening coming from Severus.

"Excellent," Severus beamed. "As long as you make my sister happy, everything will be fine."

"I'll try my best," Draco vowed. "I just wish we could see each other in public. It's hard to date someone in a tiny room in the school library."

"Maybe things will become public sooner than you think," Severus replied cryptically.

"What do you mean?" Draco asked eagerly. "Does the Dark Lord have something planned?"

"All in good time, Draco," Severus chuckled as he got to his feet. "Now off you go and enjoy the rest of your holidays. And Draco, keep your opinions about my personal life to yourself."

"So I was right," Draco crowed victoriously. "You do have a woman on the go."

"Goodbye Draco," Severus said stonily as he glared at his godson.

"See you, Severus," Draco returned with a chuckle as he exited the office and darted back to the Slytherin common room.

Despite the warning about Hermione, which he'd been expecting to happen once Severus found out about the pair of them, he thought the chat with his godfather was very illuminating. Not only did Severus's personal life look to be on the up, but he was convinced there was something going on that the adults weren't telling them. It almost sounded as though Harry and Hermione wouldn't have to hide for much longer, but he didn't want to get his hopes up in case he was reading things wrong. He would just have to wait and see what was happening at the end of the year when school was finished and they got to go home.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

"I can't believe you haven't even opened it again," Hermione yelled at Harry. "It's so irresponsible."

"I'll figure it out eventually," Harry replied, slightly sheepishly.

The pair were in the boy's dorms with Ron, and Hermione had just discovered that Harry hadn't touched his golden egg since the night of the first task. The couple of times she'd asked her nephew about it, he'd assured her he was on the case. But with the start of school less than twenty four hours away, he'd admitted he hadn't even touched the egg, let alone try to work out the clue inside.

"Calm down, Hermione," Ron called from where he was lying sprawled on his bed reading a comic. "The second task isn't until February."

"And it is January now," Hermione retorted. "Harry's only got about seven weeks to try and work out what the next task is."

"Seven weeks is an eternity," Ron replied with a snort.

"Seven weeks is not long when you're stuck in a deadly tournament," Hermione cried. Turning back to Harry, she fixed her nephew with a hard stare. "Seriously Harry, you have to try and work out what the egg means. Your life could depend on it. You can't enter the second task without even having a clue as to what to expect."

"I know, I need to try and figure out the egg," Harry admitted with a sigh. "I might take it outside for a bit and see if that helps."

"Let me know if you need help," Hermione said as Harry picked up his egg and tucked it under his arm.

Harry nodded as he left the room and headed down to the common room. Passing through the common room, he left Gryffindor Tower and began to head downstairs so he could go outside. He knew Hermione was right and that he should have been trying to decipher the egg long before now, but he'd let himself get caught up with the euphoria surrounding the completion of the first task, and then there was the excitement of the Yule Ball. However, it was time to refocus on the Triwizard Tournament and work out how he was going to survive the second task.

Halfway down the stairs, Harry was intercepted by Moody. At first Harry thought the Professor was just going to pass by him with a brief nod, but just as he turned to leave, he seemed to change his mind. Turning back to Harry, Moody offered Harry a cup of tea in his office. Not sure how to get out of it, Harry found himself traipsing to the Defence Professors office behind Moody.

"Sit down," Moody said to Harry as he headed over to the corner to make some tea.

Harry sat down in front of Moody's desk, his eyes flitting around the office and taking in all the changes Moody had made. The room was littered with magical devices, Harry had never set eyes on before, and in the corner of the room was a large wooden trunk.

"So Harry, how are you doing?" Moody asked, handing Harry a cup of very strong tea, before he settled himself down opposite the teenager.

"Okay, I guess," Harry replied, warily taking a sip of the tea.

"I have to admit, you're handling things better than I thought," Moody said, sounding almost put out. "I wouldn't have thought a fourteen year old could cope so well with someone trying to kill them."

Harry had just taken another small mouthful of tea as Moody was speaking, and at the Professors words, he began to choke on the liquid. "Kill me?"

"Well what else do you think is happening?" Moody asked with a bark of humourless laughter. "You were clearly entered into the tournament in the hopes you would die."

"How do you know this?" Harry asked with a nervous gulp.

"For a long time, I chased dark wizards, and in that time I learnt to think as they did," Moody replied. "I've been thinking about your situation a lot, and I'm positive whoever did this, intends for you to die."

"Who would do such a thing?" Harry whispered.

"There are two Death Eaters in the school," Moody replied with a shrug. "And I wouldn't trust either of them as far as I could throw them."

"But Dumbledore is adamant that Professor Snape is on our side," Harry argued. "And Karkaroff is also supposedly reformed."

"How do you know about Karkaroff's past?" Moody questioned.

"I heard rumours," Harry replied with a shrug. "Is it true?"

"It's true, Karkaroff is a death eater, as is Snape."

"Don't you mean, former?"

"No such thing," Moody snorted. "Trust me, Harry, no Death Eater is reformed. Once you pledge your allegiance to The Dark Lord there's no walking away. All the Death Eaters are loyal to The Dark Lord. Mark my words, Snape and Karkaroff are no different. You have to be careful, Harry."

"I'll try," Harry replied with a nod.

"How are you coming on with your egg?" Moody asked, abruptly changing the subject.

"Not great," Harry muttered. "All I get is a horrid screeching noise when I open it. Can you give me a clue as to how to work out what it means?"

"Sorry, Harry, I have no idea," Moody replied as he got to his feet and went to top up his tea. "You'll have to work this one out for yourself."

"In that case, I better get moving," Harry said as he also got up and placed his half empty cup on Moody's desk. "Thanks for the chat, Professor."

"Any time, Harry, any time," Moody replied, before Harry darted out of his office and headed off to try and work out the mystery of the golden egg.


	18. Chapter 18

Much to Harry's frustration, not to mention Hermione's, the golden egg proved incredibly hard to crack. Every time Harry opened the egg, it just let out the same awful screeching noise that had everyone nearby covering their ears. It didn't matter where he opened it, the result was the same. With just an annoying screech to work with, it was incredibly hard to know what to do with the egg, and even Hermione was struggling to decipher what it could mean.

By the time the new term started, they were no closer to cracking the egg clue. Of course it didn't help that they couldn't even let Draco hear the egg to see if he could help. Since they always met up in the library, it wasn't wise for Harry to open his egg as it was very loud. Not only would Madam Pince likely throw them all out and ban them from returning, but their secret room would be discovered.

"Maybe I can speak with Father or Severus," Draco suggested. It was the end of the second week of term, and the golden egg was sitting in the middle of the table in the secret room as the trio pondered on how to solve the puzzle within. "Surely one of them can help."

"I hope so," Harry muttered dejectedly. "The task is creeping closer and we still have no idea what lies ahead."

"I told you that you should have started working on this earlier," Hermione remarked.

"Yeah, you mentioned it on the last day of the holidays," Harry snapped back. "Let's face it Hermione, you let yourself get distracted as well. We were all too caught up in the romance of the Yule Ball."

Hermione glared at Harry and looked as though she was going to argue, but when Draco gave her a hard stare, she backed down and conceded that Harry had a point. It was true that she hadn't thought about the egg for days as she'd prepared for the Yule Ball. Even afterwards, she was more than happy to have a few relaxing days. The egg had only really re-entered her head as she'd started preparing for the new term.

"Sorry, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "I guess we all got a bit slack."

"Speak for yourselves, some of us didn't have a chance to think about an egg. Some of us were fending off protective big brothers," Draco snorted.

"Big brothers?" Hermione frowned momentarily, but when Harry burst out laughing, understanding dawned on her. "Severus."

"Don't tell me you got a lecture from Dad about not hurting Hermione," Harry said through his laughter. He just wished he could have seen it, just to see how intimidating Draco had found his father.

"Yes, I got a bloody lecture," Draco grumbled. "And for the record Harry, your father is a lot more intimidating than you."

"Years of practice," Harry said with a smirk. "Everyone knows Potions class is the most intimidating subject in school."

"Rubbish," Draco snorted. "McGonagall is way more intimidating to us Slytherins than Severus."

"Did Severus really threaten you?" Hermione asked, breaking into the boys discussion before it became a full on debate.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle," Draco reassured her. "Besides, since I have no intention of breaking your heart, my legs will be perfectly safe."

Harry's laughter got even louder with Draco's newest revelations. "He threatened to break your legs?"

"Why are the men in my family so violent," Hermione muttered, aiming her comment towards Harry, who was still chortling away.

"We're just protective of our weakest member," Harry answered, shooting Hermione wicked smirk. "Besides, I think Beth could be just as intimating as Dad and I. And let's not forget Grandpa."

"Bloody hell, The Dark Lord," Draco muttered under his breath. Even though he'd known Hermione's father all his life, he was suddenly worried about facing him now he was dating his only daughter.

"Don't be so pathetic Draco," Hermione snapped. "No-one is going to do anything to you, because you're not going to hurt me. And as for all the crap about me being the weakest member of the family, I think we all know that's not true. I'm just as tough as you, Harry, and one day I'll get the chance to prove it. Once we're able to stop hiding, I'll be able to show everyone just how tough I am."

"Okay Hermione, I didn't mean to cause offence," Harry said, hastily backtracking as his feisty aunt began to rant. "I was just joking. You know no-one thinks you're weak. We just love you, and warning your boyfriend to behave is just what families do."

"Just don't underestimate me," Hermione said as she got to his feet and gathered her books.

"Are you leaving?" Draco asked, slightly put out that Hermione was going and they hadn't even spent a few minutes alone.

"Yes, I've got a headache," Hermione replied. "I'll see you boys tomorrow."

Harry and Draco watched Hermione leave, before sharing a bemused look. They doubted Hermione was that sensitive that she'd taken offence at what Harry had said, normally she could give as good as she got. Hopefully she did just have a headache and she hadn't stormed off, annoyed with the pair of them.

"She'll come round," Harry remarked with a shrug as he turned back to glumly stare at his egg. "Let's just hope I live long enough to see it."

"Don't worry mate, we'll crack it eventually," Draco replied. "I'll go and speak to Severus when I leave here. Hopefully by morning I'll have an answer for you."

"Hopefully," Harry agreed as the two boys packed up and headed their separate ways for the night.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Over breakfast, Draco debated how he could get a message to Harry. The previous evening he'd spoken to Severus, and his godfather had given him an invaluable clue to deciphering the egg. Severus hadn't know what was inside the egg, but he did know the only way to make it into an audible clue was to open the egg underwater. However, since it was a weekend, passing the message to Harry was harder than normal. Usually Draco scribbled what he wanted to say in a note and bumped into Harry, slipping the note into his hand or pocket in the process, but weekends held less opportunities of bumping into the Gryffindors. Although, just in case the opportunity arose, Draco scribbled everything he needed to tell Harry on a piece of parchment and kept it in his pocket.

By early afternoon Draco still hadn't found an opportunity to even make the slightest contact with Harry, but that all changed shortly after lunch. Despite it being January, the Slytherin boys decided to take a stroll in the grounds. As they passed the greenhouses, they suddenly got a nasty whiff of fertiliser. At the same time, Harry, Hermione and Ron rounded the corner at the other side of the greenhouses.

"Holy crap, what the hell is Sprout spreading on her plants, dragon dung?" Blaise gasped as the boys all covered their noses.

"Maybe it's not the dragon dung, maybe it's the Gryffindorks," Theo joked, suddenly spotting the trio just in front of them.

"Bugger off, Nott," Ron sneered as he raised his own hand to block the smell. "Crabbe or Goyle have probably dropped one."

"Nope, I say the smells coming from over where you three are," Draco said, catching Harry's eyes. "Hey Potter, maybe you should take a bath."

"A bath?" Harry queried. He knew Draco was trying to tell his something, but he didn't know what.

"What are you, dense?" Draco tutted with a roll of his eyes. Stepping forward, he got as close to Hermione as he could and fished out the note from his pocket. Luckily Hermione was on the ball, and she swiped it out of his hands without anyone noticing a thing. "Surely you've heard of a bath, Potter. It's a large tub filled with water. Ask Granger, I'm sure she can point you in the right direction."

"Whatever you do, just don't ask Weasley," Theo laughed. "All the baths in the world wouldn't wash the stench of pathetic blood traitor off him."

"I'd rather be a blood traitor than a pureblood snob like you lot," Ron shot back.

"Snob? Is that the best you can do?" Draco laughed as he moved backwards away from the Gryffindors. "Honestly, Weaselbee, you're pathetic. You know what boys, let's head back inside and go and settle beside the fire. Suddenly, I've had all the fresh air I can handle."

"Yeah, the air isn't exactly so fresh now, is it?" Blaise agreed as he shot a disgusted look at the trio.

Catching Hermione's eye, and making sure she had the note to give to Harry, Draco turned and led the Slytherins back inside. Now he didn't have to worry about passing a message to his best friend, he was more than happy to spend his Saturday afternoon down in the dungeons hanging out with his other friends and stuffing his face with sweets from Honeydukes.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Harry whispered to Hermione.

It was after curfew, and the pair had snuck down to the common room with Harry's egg. After their run in with Draco, and the helpful note he'd slipped to them, they now knew how to decipher Harry's egg. However, Harry wasn't so sure it would work. After all, why would opening the egg underwater help in the slightest?

"It's what Draco said," Hermione answered. "He told you to have a bath, and his note said the same. It also gave you the password to the prefects' bathroom. All you have to do is sneak along to the prefects' bathroom, have a quick bath with your egg and find out what the clue is. Don't forget the write the clue down so we can decipher it later."

"What if it doesn't work, and I'm caught?" Harry asked. "How do I explain having the password for the prefects' bathroom? I can't exactly say I got it off my father."

"Say you overheard a couple of the prefects discussing the bathroom," Hermione suggested. "But I'm sure you won't get caught. We've never been caught before. Well unless you count first year, and that was only because of Draco's friends."

"Great, I'll be fine as long as I don't run into Theo bloody Nott," Harry grumbled. "He's a right little shit stirrer."

"To be fair, I think its Draco pulling his strings," Hermione said with a chuckle. "But stop getting distracted, and go and have a bath. I'll be waiting here for when you come back."

Hoping Draco's advice was right, Harry securely tucked the egg under his arm and snuck out of the common room. Since Hermione was waiting up to let him back in, because of course The Fat Lady had gone off on one of her nightly strolls, Harry didn't bother to wedge the door open. Recalling where Draco had said they would find the room, Harry snuck down to the fifth floor. Following the directions from his friend, he found the right door and when he said the password, it flew open.

What greeted Harry was the most spectacular bathroom he'd ever laid eyes on. The room was dominated by a large white marble tub, with dozens of faucets at one side. Hurrying over to the faucets, he started running the bath and was amazed when different coloured, and fragranced bubbles appeared from different taps. It took ten minutes for the large tub to fill, and by the time it was done, Harry couldn't wait to sink into the tempting water.

Placing the egg to one side of the tub, he pulled off his dressing down and hung it on a nearby hook. Stripping off his pyjamas, he was down to his boxers when he heard a feminine giggle. Whirling around, he almost died of fright when he spotted the ghost of a young be speckled girl floating above the bubbles in the bath.

"Aren't you cute," The ghost giggled. "And oh so naughty, it's after curfew."

"You're Myrtle, right," Harry deduced.

"You know who I am?" Myrtle stopped giggling and tilted her head to the side as she studied Harry.

"Yes," Harry replied with a nod. "I heard about what happened to you a few years ago."

"When the chamber was opened," Myrtle hissed angrily. "Whoever was doing it was keeping me away. It's my bathroom, and I couldn't get in when I wanted to."

"What do you mean, whoever was doing it? It was Ginny Weasley," Harry replied. "She was under the spell of an old diary."

"Poppycock," Myrtle snorted. "I was being kept out of the bathroom by a type of magic used by the Professors in the castle. One of them was opening the chamber, and I think I know which one."

"Who?" Harry asked.

"Professor Snape," Myrtle spat, her lips curling in disgust. "Who else would open the chamber but a Slytherin? He just blamed the poor little Weasley girl."

"Have you told anyone your theories?" Harry asked, wondering if there was a way to silence a ghost. The last thing they needed was for Myrtle to go around claiming Severus had been opening the Chamber of Secrets.

"Who would listen to me, I'm just a ghost," Myrtle replied with a shrug. "Anyway, what are you doing in her so late at night?"

"I need to work out the clue to my egg, and to do that I need water," Harry explained. "So could you please go, so I can finish getting undressed and get into the bath?"

"Can I not stay?" Myrtle pouted. "I promise I won't peek."

Not wanting to upset Myrtle and have her go rushing off to tell on him, Harry reluctantly agreed to her terms. Having the ghost turn around and close her eyes, he quickly finished getting undressed and sunk into the large tub. Almost the second he was settled in the water, Myrtle floated back over to him and settled herself so it looked as though she was sitting next to him.

"What now?" She asked, giving Harry a smile, totally oblivious to his discomfort.

"I need to open the egg," Harry replied.

Trying to ignore the ghost nestled at his side, Harry grabbed the egg and plunged it under the water. When he opened it, the awful wailing didn't occur, but he also couldn't hear anything.

"Maybe you need to be under the water with the egg," Myrtle suggested with a giggle.

Harry nodded as he closed the egg again. Taking a deep breath, he plunged his head under the water, and reopened the egg. Instantly, a soft song, sang in bewitching voices, began to flow from the egg.

 _Come seek us where our voices sound,_

 _We cannot sing above the ground,_

 _And while you're searching ponder this;_

 _We've taken what you'll sorely miss,_

 _An hour long you'll have to look,_

 _And to recover what we took,_

 _But past an hour, the prospect's black,_

 _Too late, it's gone, it won't come back._

Harry listened to the song several times, and once he was sure he could remember it, he closed the egg and sat it on the edge of the bathtub. Mulling over the clue, his eyes wandered around the room and he suddenly got his eye on a stained glass window featuring a mermaid. The mermaid was sitting on a rock, and smiling flirtatiously at him.

"Myrtle, are there mermaids in the Black Lake?"

"Yes. But trust me, mermaids are horrible creatures. They don't look anything like her," Myrtle replied, indicating the flirting mermaid on the window.

"Thanks Myrtle, you've been a great help," Harry said with a grin.

Despite the fact he'd just been talking to her, he then totally forgot about her as he jumped out of the water. It was only when Myrtle let out a squeal, that Harry realised he'd just given her an eyeful. Blushing, and shaking his head at the fact the first girl to see him naked had been a ghost, Harry quickly redressed. Before he left the bathroom, he quickly wrote down the song on the parchment Hermione had given him before he'd left Gryffindor Tower. Giving Myrtle a smile, and thanking her once again, Harry hurried out of the prefects' bathroom and headed back to Gryffindor Tower to fill Hermione in on what he'd discovered.


	19. Chapter 19

"Come seek us where our voices sound, we cannot sing above the ground," Hermione mused. "Well that parts sorted. We know the task is taking place in the Black Lake."

It was now a few days before the second task, and Harry, Hermione and Draco had met up to discuss how Harry was going to deal with the second task. Of course they'd been discussing what to do for the last few weeks, but they were still deciding on the best way for Harry to survive the task. Hermione had found a few charms that might work, but they weren't over confident on any of them.

"We got that one sorted, Hermione," Harry muttered. "The Black Lake isn't the problem."

"No, it isn't," Hermione agreed. "An hour long you'll have to look, and to recover what we took. That's the problematic part."

"You think?" Harry snorted. "When was the last time you held your breath underwater for an hour?"

"We're looking for solutions to that problem," Hermione replied. "There has to be spells you can use."

"I bloody well hope so," Harry muttered. "The tasks in a few days, and we still have no solid plan as to how I can survive an hour underwater."

"We'll get there," Draco chimed in. "I don't know if we also need to try and work on some sort of locater spell. An hour is not a long time to find something in the Black Lake."

"It's a lake, it can't be that big," Harry argued.

"Harry, it houses a giant squid, mer-people and who knows what else. I would say it's pretty big," Draco replied.

"Not to mention the colour," Hermione added. "I would hardly say it was a hygienic place to take a dip. I doubt the visibility is very good."

"Isn't this just brilliant," Harry grumbled. "Not only do I have to survive an hour in the Black Lake, I've also got to find some hidden object in the murky depths, while battling who knows what sort of creatures. Sounds simple, doesn't it?"

"If you can face a dragon, you can handle an hour in a blasted lake," Draco said.

"I wonder what you're going to have to find," Hermione mused as she sat down next to Draco. "The clue implies it's going to be something taken from the champions personally."

"As long as it's nothing too small," Harry replied. "Imaging trying to find something tiny in that lake."

"I wouldn't like to try and find something big," Draco muttered.

"Don't say that." Hermione shook her head as she slapped her boyfriend on the arm. "We're supposed to be encouraging, Harry."

"Sorry mate," Draco apologised with a wince.

"You're just speaking the truth," Harry said with a shrug. "It's going to be terrible trying to find anything down in that lake. Bring back the dragons, I say."

"It's a pity flying won't help you out here," Draco said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, that would be great," Harry agreed with a smile. "If only flying was an option."

"Flying is not the answer to every problem," Hermione insisted firmly. "The answer to this problem lies elsewhere, we just have to find where."

"And let's guess, the answer lies in a book," Draco said, exchanging knowing smiles with Harry.

"It's certainly a start," Hermione said, pulling one of the many books closer to her. "Let's get cracking boys, we don't have much time."

Exchanging another smile, Harry and Draco both grabbed a book and began flicking through them. Half an hour later, they still had no more solid ideas and they decided to call it a night. While Draco went back down to the dungeons, Harry and Hermione returned to Gryffindor Tower.

"Harry, where have you been?" Ron demanded as soon as the pair entered the common room. The redhead was sitting beside the fire with Dean, Seamus and Neville. "I've been looking for you for the last hour."

"We were in the library," Harry replied. "We were trying to find a way for me to survive the second task."

"Do you know what the next task is?" Dean asked.

"Did I not mention I figured out the egg?" Harry asked. He'd told Ron about the task, and since they'd been talking about it in the dorm, he'd figured the others would have heard about it.

"No," Seamus answered. "So what is the task?"

"Something to do with the Black Lake," Harry answered. "I have to find something hidden in the lake, and I've got one hour to do it. Providing of course I can find a way to spend an hour underwater without dying."

"Have you considered Gillyweed?" Neville asked.

"Gillyweed?" Harry repeated with a frown. "What's that?"

"It's a magical plant, which helps people breath underwater. The effects last for an hour," Neville explained. "I've just been reading about it in the Herbology book I got for Christmas."

"Can you get your hands on some?" Harry asked eagerly. Gillyweed was certainly sounding like the best idea they'd come across.

"I can ask Professor Sprout, she might be able to help," Neville replied. "It is a plant found up here in the highlands, so there might be a source nearby."

"Neville, I'd be forever in your debt if you could help me out with this," Harry said, giving his friend a smile.

"I'll do my best," Neville replied, returning the smile.

"I told you the answer was in a book," Hermione told Harry. "And luckily for you, the answer was in a Herbology book and we've got an expert in our midst."

"I'm not an expert," Neville said with a blush. "I just like the subject."

"Okay, a future expert," Hermione amended. "Trust me Neville, you've got a knack for Herbology. You could be a success in that field, I can just tell."

"Do you really think so?" Neville asked hopefully.

"I really think so," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "You just have to believe in yourself, Neville. You've got a real gift for Herbology."

With a plan hopefully sorted, Harry and Hermione settled down to spend the rest of the evening with the other Gryffindors. Hopefully Neville would come through with the Gillyweed, and then Harry just had to worry about finding whatever was hidden in the Black Lake.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Hogwarts was abuzz with anticipation as the morning of the second task dawned. While Draco was eating breakfast with his friends, his eyes scanned the Gryffindor table for Harry and Hermione. He wasn't totally surprised not to find Harry as the previous evening he'd mentioned the champions were meeting up before breakfast. The four were probably having a private breakfast as they prepared for the morning ahead. However, he had expected to see Hermione, he just hoped she hadn't fallen asleep in the library.

The previous evening, Draco had spent a few hours with Harry and Hermione in their secret room in the library. Even though Harry had a way to breath underwater, thanks to Neville and his interest in Herbology, Hermione had still wanted to make sure her nephew was prepared. When Harry had headed to bed, Draco and Hermione had stayed in the library a bit longer. However, when Draco left, Hermione had just wanted to grab one more book to check through. More than likely she'd stayed up late reading and was just having a bit of a lie in.

Draco didn't begin to get seriously worried about Hermione until it was time to head down to the Black Lake for the second task. As they were heading down to the lake, where boats were waiting to take the students over onto three platforms in the middle of the lake, Draco and his friends found themselves behind the Gryffindors and Hermione was noticeable by her absence. All the Weasleys were with the group, with the twins taking bets on who was going to triumph in the task.

Draco was dying to ask them where Hermione was, but he couldn't think of a way of broaching the topic without raising suspicions. After all, he couldn't just enquire where his girlfriend was and if anyone had seen her. Fortunately, when they reached the lakeside, they had to stand in line as they waited for the boats to ferry people across to the platform, and Draco was perfectly placed to hear the Gryffindors conversation.

"Are you sure she wasn't in her room?" Ron asked Ginny, straining his neck and looking around the Slytherins that were hovering just behind them.

"I've told you, she wasn't there," Ginny replied. "She might already be on one of the platforms."

"Maybe," Ron replied, although he didn't sound too convinced.

When the two redheads then turned back to face the lake, and no more mention of Hermione was made, Draco couldn't help but shake his head. There was no sign of Hermione, and no real reason why she would have headed down to the lake earlier, but her supposed friends weren't exactly bothered by her absence. It was just like Draco had always expected, the Weasleys weren't bothered about Hermione, all they'd cared about was latching onto Harry.

Finally the Slytherins made it across to one of the platforms, and as they settled down on one of the top decks, Draco took advantage of the view to search for Hermione. As luck would have it, they were on the same platform as the judges, Professors and watching families, but there was no sign of Hermione anywhere. The Gryffindors were on the platform next to theirs, and Hermione was not among their numbers. By the time the last few boats arrived, including those which held the four champions, Draco was officially worried.

"I'll be back in a minute," Draco muttered to his friends as he turned to head down the nearby steps.

"But the task will be starting any minute now," Theo protested. "And we've got a perfect view for when Potter's pushed into the lake."

"I'll be two minutes, I just need to speak to my father," Draco called as he darted away from his friends and headed down the stairs.

By the time Draco reached the bottom step, Crouch had begun talking and was explaining the first task. Hanging back, Draco watched as Harry stood at the edge of the platform, nervously holding the Gillyweed in his hand. When the whistle went for the start of the task, Harry barely had time to pop the Gillyweed in his mouth, before Moody swiftly elbowed him in the back, sending him flying into the water. For a second, Draco's heart stopped as he worried about Harry, but then there was an almighty splash as Harry flew out of the water, before diving back down, with what looked gills forming on his neck.

Shaking his head to rid himself of the sight of his best friend looking part fish, Draco edged towards the judges podium and caught his father's eye. Considering the task couldn't really be judged until the champions started to return, Lucius was able to leave his seat without anyone causing a fuss.

"What's wrong?" He asked quietly, pulling his son into the shadows of the platform.

"Have you seen Hermione?" Draco whispered back. He didn't think anyone was close enough to hear, but he was speaking as quietly as he could just in case.

"No. Is she not with the Gryffindors?"

"No," Draco answered, biting his lower lip nervously. "I'm worried about her. There's no way she would miss this."

"I'll go and see if Severus knows anything," Lucius replied. "Stay here and I'll be back in a minute."

Draco remained in the shadows as his father casually headed over to Severus and whispered something in his ear. Severus shook his head, before wandering off with a frown on his face. Five minutes later, Severus returned and pulled the headmaster to one side. Whatever Dumbledore said did not look to go down well with Severus, and when he spoke to Lucius, Draco could see the anger rolling off his godfather. When Lucius turned back and returned to him, Draco could see his father was also fuming at whatever was happening.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked as his father surrounded them in a magical barrier that prevented anyone from hearing what they were saying. "Where's Hermione?"

"In the Black Lake," Lucius replied in a voice dripping with fury. "She's the treasure Harry has to find."

"No!" Draco's eyes returned to the Black Lake, and his heart clenched as he thought about his girlfriend trapped somewhere down the depths of the water.

"Bloody Dumbledore," Lucius spat. "There's going to be hell to pay after this task. Mark my words, I'm not going to let him get away with using students like this."

"Is there other students down there?" Draco asked, even though the only one he cared about was Hermione.

"Yes, the champions all have to rescue someone," Lucius answered. "The Delacour girl has to rescue her younger sister, while Diggory and Krum are both rescuing the girls they took to the Yule Ball."

"And what if they don't find them in time?" Draco asked in a small voice. "The clue said Harry had an hour, any longer and whatever had been taken wouldn't come back."

"Don't worry, that won't happen," Lucius reassured his son. "Do you honestly think Severus and I would just stand here and let anything happen to Hermione? Trust me, she's coming out of that water and she's going to be fine. I'd bet on Harry rescuing her, but even if he doesn't, we will."

Draco gave his father an absentminded nod as his gaze fell back to the water. He couldn't believe Hermione was down there, and he just hoped she was okay. If anything happened to her, he would personally make sure Dumbledore suffered. Saying goodbye to his father, Draco returned to his friends. However, it was hard to have fun and appear lighthearted when his two childhood friends were in danger down below the surface of the Black Lake. All he could do now, was hope and pray that everything turned out alright and both Harry and Hermione survived the second task unscathed.


	20. Chapter 20

Being able to breathe so easily underwater was proving hard for Harry to get his head around. Even though he'd been down in the Black Lake for nearly fifteen minutes, he was still struggling with the fact he'd developed gills on the side of his neck, and his feet had elongated to be more flipper-like. While Neville had told him the Gillyweed would help him breathe underwater, he'd failed to mention the changes it would bring about. Although, he didn't really have time to quibble as he to find something belonging to him in the lake.

The previous evening Hermione had suggested he should try and locate the mermaids, since it was their voices he'd heard in the egg. However, locating mermaids in a big, dank lake was easier said than done. Harry couldn't see more than a few feet in front of him, and he had no idea if he was scouring the entire lake or just swimming in circles.

Ten minutes later, Harry was still searching out the mermaids when he spotted a shadow off to the side. Swimming over to investigate, he ended up swallowing a pile of water as he screamed when he came face to face with a shark. It was only when the shark carried on swimming past him that he realised it was Krum. While his head was now a shark, the back end of his body was still human. Shuddering at the sight of the half shark-half human Viktor Krum, Harry composed himself before heading in the direction Krum had headed.

Less than five minutes later, Harry encountered what he was assuming was a mer-person. The tiny creature was half girl, half fish, but she was a far cry from the beautiful mermaids he'd seen in pictures. The mermaid was carrying a small trident, and she aimed it at Harry's neck as he tried to pass her. When Harry opened his mouth to talk to the mermaid all that emerged was bubbles, and she seemed to take it as a sign that he was going to attack. Letting out a high pitched squeal, she lunged for Harry with her trident.

Harry spotted the trident coming, and was able to dodge to the side, seconds before it swiped through the area his neck had been moments before. Using his speed as a seeker, Harry dodged the mermaids repeated attack. Finally he managed to get himself positioned behind the mermaid, and pulling out his wand he tried to stun her. However, the spell didn't quite work the same underwater, and a jet of boiling water left his wand and scalded the back of the mermaid. The mermaid quickly swam off, making a noise that sounded as though she was crying.

Feeling guilty for hurting the mermaid when he hadn't meant to, Harry pressed on to find what he needed to find before the time ran out. Over the course of the next ten minutes, he faced several more mermaids, and a few mermen. Even though he felt bad about using it, he recreated the spell that sent boiling water shooting from his wand. The mer-people soon recognised the spell as being hurtful to them, so he was able to manoeuvre deeper into their lair.

Just as he was starting to worry about time running out, he saw a sight that chilled him to the bone. Tethered to rocks by their ankles were four people, including his aunt. The sight of Hermione angered Harry, and when another mermaid approached him, he sent a jet of boiling water their way without a second thought. Swimming over to Hermione, he shot a spell at the rope tying her to the rocks. The second she was free, he wrapped his arms around her and began swimming for the surface. Somewhere inside his head a voice told him to check on the other people who were trapped, but his concern for Hermione overrode anything else he felt. Right now, his priority was saving his aunt.

When they reached the surface of the lake, Hermione emerged from whatever magical state she'd been held in. Immediately she began spluttering and gasping for air. Keeping a tight hold on his struggling aunt, Harry sat off swimming towards the nearest platform. Luckily the nearest platform was the one where the Professors and judges were sitting, and several of them were waiting to help him and Hermione out of the Black Lake.

As he pulled himself onto the platform, after first making sure Hermione was safely out of the water, Harry spotted his father hovering nearby looking concerned. Lucius was also standing at his side, looking furious at something or other.

"Well done Mr Potter," Dumbledore said, greeting him with a wide smile. "You're the first back."

Dumbledore had no sooner finished talking then there was a splash behind them and Cedric emerged from the water, helping a coughing and spluttering Cho. As they were being helped from the water, Krum appeared with the Slytherin girl he'd taken to the Yule Ball. Clearly Krum's date disagreed with his choice of transfiguration, as the second her head was above water she began to scream and thrash as she slipped out of his grasp and swam to safety by herself. While Krum was hauling himself out of the water, behind his clearly terrified date, Fleur appeared dragging her younger sister with her.

"This looks like everyone," Dumbledore said with a smile.

"While the champions and their friends are being checked over, the judges will be making some final decisions on the rankings," Crouch announced in his magnified voice.

Taking a blanket, Madam Pomfrey offered him, Harry got to his feet and wandered over to where Severus was standing. To the casual observer, they were practically ignoring each other, but a few looks were all the pair needed to converse and for Harry to reassure his father he was safe. Severus had just given Harry an understanding nod when their attention was diverted to where the judges were standing. Lucius was causing a fuss, and they didn't have to be eavesdropping to hear the blond man and what he had to say.

"Students?" Lucius bellowed at the top of his voice. He knew people could hear, and quite frankly he couldn't care less. "You put students down in the Black Lake? Did you even ask their permission to do such a thing?"

"Lucius we can discuss this later," Dumbledore hissed, very aware that a lot of people were listening to them.

"Damn right we will," Lucius vowed. "I will not let this pass, Dumbledore. The second we're finished here, we're going to your office and we're having a meeting with the Minister. You've gone too far this time, Dumbledore."

With Lucius threat ringing in the air, the judges lowered their voices and returned to judging the task in hand. Five minutes later they announced Harry as the winner of the second task. Harry plastered on a fake smile as he was announced winner, but inside he was fuming. He couldn't believe Hermione had been put in danger, and he really hoped Lucius was able to do something about it and make Dumbledore suffer for his bad judgement.

Amidst all the announcements for the end of the task, Harry found himself back at Hermione's side. While everyone was fussing around and the boats were being organised to take everyone back over to the mainland, Harry settled down on the platform beside Hermione.

"Are you okay?" He asked, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her into his side.

"I guess so," Hermione replied as she gazed out at the lake. "I just can't believe I was held prisoner under the lake. Do you know how long I was down there?"

"I'm not sure," Harry answered. "But I think you might have been taken last night. I was up really early this morning, and there was no sign of you in the common room. By the time I left to meet up with the other champions I hadn't seen you, and when I asked Parvati she said you weren't in your dorm room."

"I hope I wasn't underwater all night," Hermione said with a shudder.

"I'm sure Lucius will get to the bottom of it," Harry whispered. "Did you hear him, he's on the warpath?"

Hermione chuckled, just as McGonagall came up behind them and ushered them to a boat. They were taking the four champions and their captives back over to the castle first so they could head up to the hospital wing for Madam Pomfrey to give them a final check over.

As they settled into one of the boats, the pair got their eyes on Draco. The blond was standing with his friends, on the top tier of the platform they'd been on. Because he was looking down, they were able to give him a quick smile to reassure him that they were okay. Hopefully they would be able to meet up later, but it wasn't as if they could arrange anything right now.

When they reached the shore and got out of the boats, they found other boats were transferring people from the other two platforms. On the boat that docked seconds behind theirs, were Ron and Ginny. The two redheads bolted from the boat as quick as they could and rushed over to the pair. Ginny instantly flung her arms around Harry and squeezed him tight as she muttered about how worried she'd been.

"We're completely fine," Harry insisted as he physically had to remove Ginny from around his waist.

"I can't believe you were down in the water, Hermione," Ron said, sounding slightly envious. "What was it like?"

"I have no idea," Hermione replied with a shrug. "Thankfully, I was in some sort of magical sleep. The incident is traumatic enough without having to remember being trapped down there."

"I'm sure you were perfectly safe," Ron grumbled, giving Hermione an unimpressed glare. "You should think yourself lucky to be involved in the tournament."

"Funny, I don't think it's lucky to be kidnapped and held prisoner underwater," Hermione snapped back. "Now if you don't mind, I want to go to the hospital wing and get checked over before I freeze to death."

Taking hold of Harry's hand, Hermione turned towards the school and stalked back to the castle. The last thing she wanted was for people to think she'd been willingly involved in the task. What had been done to her was wrong, and she intended for everyone to know her feeling on the subject. She didn't care what anyone had to say about keeping her cool, she was angry at what had happened, and she intended to let that anger out. She didn't care if people saw she was mad at Dumbledore, right at the minute, she would happily tell anyone who asked what she thought of the old codger, and none of it would be complimentary.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Despite Dumbledore trying to put him off, claiming he had things to do, Lucius refused to budge from the Headmaster's office until they'd spoken about what had happened at the second task. He also refused to budge, until Dumbledore got in touch with Fudge and got the Minister for Magic up at the school. With no other choice, Dumbledore had reluctantly flooed Fudge and asked him if he could come up to the school. As usual, Fudge dropped everything to jump to Dumbledore's summons and he arrived at the school within ten minutes of the call being placed.

"I hear the second task was a success," Fudge said with a smile. "I've just seen Barty and he mentioned the young Potter boy had won again."

"Yes, he's performing most admirably," Dumbledore replied.

"Luckily for us," Lucius sneered. "Let's not forget, he's only fourteen. He shouldn't even be in this tournament."

"It is unfortunate that he was able to enter," Fudge agreed. "Are you any further forward in figuring out what happened, Albus?"

"I still maintain Harry was entered into the tournament at the bidding of Voldemort. We just can't prove who exactly did the deed," Dumbledore said, looking pointedly in Lucius's direction.

"Yes, well, I don't suppose that's what you called me here to discuss," Fudge said diplomatically. He knew how Dumbledore felt about Lucius and his past, but personally he rather like the blond wizard. In his opinion Lucius wasn't dark and dangerous, he just had a set of old fashioned values he lived his life by.

"Unfortunately, it is not," Lucius replied in a grave voice. "I asked for this meeting, because as head of the governors I have serious concerns about the safety of the students. Today, three of them were used unwittingly in the second task, along with a young girl from Beauxbatons."

"What do you mean they were used unwittingly?" Fudge asked in concern as he sat down in the chair beside Lucius.

"I mean they were trapped underwater for the champions to rescue," Lucius explained. "I spoke to the girl from Slytherin, and she didn't agree to take part in the task."

Turning to Dumbledore, Fudge glared at the headmaster. "What is going on Albus?"

"Everything was authorised by the Ministry," Dumbledore answered with a sigh. "I assumed Barty had informed you what the second task involved."

"I knew nothing of this," Fudge insisted. "I certainly never would have allowed it to go ahead had I known. Or at the very least, I would have insisted on you gaining permission from the students you used as part of the task. What were you thinking, Albus? Why didn't you just ask them to be involved?"

"I honestly didn't think they would mind," Dumbledore said with a shrug. "After all they were in no real danger."

"That is not the point," Lucius spat. "I'm sorry Cornelius, but you have to do something. I have serious worries about not only my son's safety, but the safety of everyone else. First there was the whole Quirrell shenanigans, with the bloke ending up in Azkaban. Then there was Lockhart, a fraud who ran away and left a student to die. Last year my son was hurt in a class taught by someone without any qualifications, not to mention the werewolf that was teaching. And now this. I'm sorry, but as a parent and a governor, I insist something is done."

"I quite agree," Fudge said, before Dumbledore had a chance to say anything.

"What are you saying, Cornelius?" Dumbledore asked slowly, hardly able to believe Lucius was getting his own way.

"I'm saying Lucius is right, this place needs looking at carefully and some tough decisions made," Fudge replied. "However, with the tournament going on, now is not the time to make changes. However, during the summer we're going to have some serious discussions, Albus. Things are going to change at Hogwarts."

Lucius shot a triumphant smirk Dumbledore's way as the Minister said his goodbyes and left the office. Feeling pleased with his morning's work, Lucius also exited the headmaster's office, although he didn't take the floo route. Instead he left via the office door and headed down to the dungeons to fill Severus in on what was happening. When Lucius entered his friend's office, he found Draco sitting in front of his godfather's desk, while Severus paced up and down beside the fire.

"What's going on?" Lucius asked his son. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Draco replied, brushing off his father's concerns. "I just came to see what happened with Dumbledore. Everyone heard you threaten him, and everyone expects me to have the inside track on what's going on."

"You can tell your friends that Dumbledore's in trouble," Lucius replied with a smirk. "Things are going to be changing over the summer holidays. If I get my way, he won't be in charge next year."

"Excellent," Draco said with a grin as he got to his feet. "I'll see you later, Father. Enjoy your date, Severus," He cheekily called as he exited the room.

"Date?" Lucius raised a questioning eyebrow at his friend.

"It's not a date," Severus muttered, his cheeks flaming slightly. He'd been in the middle of a floo call when Draco had entered the room, and his godson had immediately picked up that he was talking to a woman. "I'm merely going down to The Three Broomsticks for dinner this evening. You're welcome to join me if you want."

"No, I don't want to intrude," Lucius chuckled. "Besides, Narcissa and I have plans. I just wanted to let you know what happened with Dumbledore, and to check if Harry and Hermione are okay?"

"They're both fine," Severus replied with a relieved sigh. Before he'd come back to his office he'd stopped by the hospital wing to reassure himself his son and sister weren't suffering from their morning's ordeal. "Did you mean what you said about Dumbledore? Is he in trouble?"

"He is," Lucius confirmed with a wicked grin. "Now all I've got to do is convince Fudge to finally sack the old fool. After all, if he's not around next year, it'll make things easier for The Dark Lord."

"It will," Severus agreed. "Although I've got to say, I've been looking forward to seeing the old man's face when he realises how he's been played, and by who. We'll miss that if he's gone."

Lucius nodded in agreement, smirking at how much fun it would be to witness Dumbledore realise just how much he'd been betrayed. Of course, even if he wasn't headmaster, he would still find out whose side Severus, Harry and Hermione were on, but it might not be quite as fun as watching him find out the truth first hand. Maybe it would be best if Dumbledore was allowed to stay on as headmaster the following year. After all, they didn't want him missing out on all the fun, not when The Dark Lord had such delicious plans for him.


	21. Chapter 21

While they were sitting in the hospital wing waiting for Madam Pomfrey to check them over, Hermione told Harry what had happened to her the previous evening. She explained that just before she was planning on returning to Gryffindor Tower, Madam Pince informed her that Dumbledore wanted to see her. Once in Dumbledore's office, he handed her a cup of tea and asked if they could discuss Harry's participation in the Triwizard Tournament. The last thing Hermione remembered was taking a few sips of her tea as she waited for Dumbledore to get round to discussing Harry and the tournament.

"It sounds like there was something in your tea," Harry mused.

"Yeah, I was clearly put to sleep practically straight away," Hermione agreed. "I just hope I wasn't in the lake all night."

When Madam Pomfrey got round to the pair, Hermione was relieved to find she hadn't been in the lake overnight. She'd actually spent the night in the hospital wing, before being transferred to the lake early in the morning. However, that still didn't ease her anger over what had happened to her. She was just hoping that one day she would get a chance to pay Dumbledore back for what he'd done to her.

"The pair of you are free to go," Madam Pomfrey announced, dismissing the Gryffindor duo.

"I guess we'll have to go back to Gryffindor Tower," Harry muttered as the pair exited the hospital wing.

"At least for a little bit," Hermione agreed. "Maybe we can sneak away later."

"I'm sure we'll come up with something," Harry said.

Steeling themselves for what awaited them in Gryffindor Tower, Harry and Hermione slowly made their way back to the common room. After battling past The Fat Lady, who wanted to hear all about Harry's latest victory, the pair made it into the common room. When they did so they were assaulted by a wall of noise as the Gryffindors cheered for Harry.

"Here he is," George cried. "Gryffindor's hero."

"Harry's now the favourite to win the tournament if anyone fancies a flutter," Fred added with a mischievous smirk. "We'll give you good odds."

"You're taking bets on the tournament?" Hermione questioned with a frown. She wasn't sure she liked the idea of people betting on how Harry performed in such a deadly tournament.

"Of course, the opportunity was too good to pass up," George replied.

"Besides, we've made a fortune," Fred said. "It's all going to go towards setting up our business in a few years' time."

"Hey, Harry, get over here," Ron called. "Have a drink."

"Is that alcohol?" Hermione queried as she followed over to where Ron was sitting nursing a cup of amber liquid. On the table behind him was a spread of food, which Hermione guessed was lunch for the Gryffindors.

"Relax, it's just a butterbeer," Ron said, rolling his eyes at Hermione.

Hermione wasn't entirely convinced that Ron was just drinking butterbeer, but she decided not to argue as it would only cause trouble. Settling down beside the fire, Hermione tried to ignore the shouting and cheering that was going on around her. Unfortunately for Harry he couldn't avoid the crowds and he found himself recounting the second task several times as people wanted to hear how he saved Hermione. Harry did manage to deflect some attention when he pointed out Neville had given him the Gillyweed, but mainly people wanted to talk to him.

Despite trying not to get involved, Hermione also began to find herself at the centre of attention. Once people had heard the story of how Harry had saved her, they wanted to know how she'd ended up down in the lake. For a while, Hermione deflected the questions and refused to talk about it, but people kept on pushing and eventually she snapped.

"You want to know how I feel," She shouted as she got to her feet. "I feel violated. I was taken without my permission, and placed underwater. What happened wasn't exciting, or a big adventure, it was dangerous. I could have been killed or severely injured. What happened wasn't something to be excited about, it's something to be horrified about. How on earth can anyone feel safe in this school when the headmaster is putting the students in danger?"

"Chill out, Hermione, everything worked out fine," Ron muttered as the brunette witch's rant drew the attention of almost everyone in the room.

"That's not the point Ronald," Hermione snapped. "The point is, I was put in unnecessary danger. Whether anything happened or nor is irrelevant. I never should have been in that position."

"What, the position of someone Harry cared about enough to want to rescue?" Ron shot back.

"And now we get to the bottom of things," Hermione said with a bitter laugh. "You're just jealous it wasn't you involved in the task. Well, I wish it had been you down there, not me. You might want the limelight, but I don't. All I want is a normal life."

Ignoring all the stares, Hermione turned around and stalked out of the common room. For a second the room remained silent, before people began to gossip about Hermione's outburst.

"I'm going to check she's okay," Harry announced as he got to his feet.

"Leave the stroppy cow," Ron said with a snort. "She's not worth bothering with, Harry. At least not when she's in one of her bitchy moods. Sometimes she's alright, and I really like her, but other times she's a bitch."

"I'm not going to just leave her," Harry retorted. "She's my best friend, and she's had a traumatic day. I'm at least going to check she's okay."

Ron continued to grumble, but Harry ignored him as he picked his way through the crowds and exited Gryffindor Tower. He didn't even have to think about where Hermione had gone, and he automatically made his way to the library. Harry made sure to avoid Madam Pince as he entered the library and headed to the secret room. It was always better if the librarian didn't know exactly who was in the library, so she didn't get suspicious when they disappeared into their secret room.

When Harry slipped into the room, he found Hermione already settled on one of the sofas. Sitting down beside his aunt, he pulled her into his arms and gave her a hug. He knew her anger at what had happened hid the fact she'd been terrified when she woke up and found herself in the water. Hermione wasn't a strong swimmer, and he knew she never would have ventured into a body of water like the Black Lake voluntarily.

"I bet everyone's talking about me," Hermione said with a sigh.

"You did put on quite a show," Harry replied with a chuckle. "I don't think anyone will confuse you for a Dumbledore fan in a hurry."

"Twisted old goat," Hermione snarled. She'd never liked Dumbledore, and often thought his actions were questionable, but she'd never been quite as mad at him as she was at the moment.

"Hopefully Grandpa can get rid of him soon," Harry said hopefully. The main reason they were still hiding their true identities was because Voldemort didn't trust they would be safe with everyone knowing who they truly were while Dumbledore was still at Hogwarts.

"I hope so, I don't think I can take another three years of this," Hermione replied quietly.

Lapsing into silence, the pair sat comfortable together until they were disturbed ten minutes later by the door opening and Draco entering the room. After expressing his pleasure to find the pair in the room, Draco rushed over to Hermione and pulled her into his arms.

"I can't believe they put you in danger like that," He muttered, noticing the way Hermione clung to him tighter than normal.

"And what about me?" Harry teased. "I was also in danger."

"I'm pleased you're both safe," Draco said. "I was just rather stunned to find Hermione was part of the task."

"Tell me about it, I almost had a heart attack when I saw her tied to a rock underwater," Harry said.

"Can we not talk about it," Hermione asked as Draco squeezed himself in between her and Harry.

"We can talk about something else," Harry said as he moved off the sofa to give Hermione and Draco more room.

"How about the fact Dumbledore is in trouble," Draco suggested with a smirk, before he proceeded to tell the pair what had happened with his father.

"Let's hope this is the end for him," Hermione said bitterly.

"It will be if Father gets his way," Draco said. "I think he's finally gone too far this time. The black marks just keep stacking up against his name. Every year he seems to do something to show what an inept old basket case he is."

"What do you think will happen if Dumbledore is sacked?" Harry questioned. "Do you think McGonagall will take over as Headmistress?"

The trio debated the likely candidates for the positon of head for a few minutes. However, when Severus's name was mentioned, mainly as a joke by Harry, Draco suddenly remembered a bit of news he'd been planning on passing on to his two best friends.

"You never guess who has a date tonight," He said with a mischievous glint in his grey eyes.

"Is that your way of trying to get me to leave?" Harry laughed.

"I wasn't talking about us," Draco replied. "Although we might have to try and rectify the fact we haven't been on a proper date yet over the summer," He added to Hermione.

"That would be nice," Hermione said, smiling up at Draco before she snuggled even closer to the blond.

"So come on Draco, who has a date, if not you?" Harry urged.

"Severus."

"What?" Harry exploded, his eyes widening in shock.

"Are you sure?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "It certainly doesn't sound like Severus. I've never known him go on a date."

"Well he was arranging to go out to dinner tonight," Draco replied with a shrug. "And over the Christmas break, I caught him sneaking back into the castle looking very dapper."

"Dapper?" Harry sniggered, momentarily forgetting the part about his father and focusing on Draco's choice of words.

"Yes, dapper," Draco said, giving Harry a steely glare. "Not that I know who Severus is seeing, but he is seeing someone. Mark my words Harry, there's a potential stepmother in the offing for you."

"Really?" Harry frowned. "Do you think it's serious?"

"I don't know, but as Hermione said, this is the first time your father's dated since losing your mother."

"That we know of," Harry argued. "Let's face it, before we started school, Dad could have been getting up to allsorts up here. For all we know he's had dozens of women since Mum died."

"That's not Severus's style," Hermione argued. "We all know how much he loved Lily. Maybe he's only just now feeling as though he can move on and find love again."

"I guess that would be nice for him," Harry conceded in a small voice.

"So you don't mind if he's got a woman on the go?" Draco checked.

"Not as long as he's happy," Harry answered. "Sure, it might be weird at first, but I want him to be happy. And if this mystery woman makes him happy, I think he should go for it."

"So do I," Hermione agreed. "It's nice to have someone in your life."

Glancing up at Draco, Hermione smiled as he lowered his head and gently connected their lips. Across the small room, Harry groaned as he got to his feet.

"That's my cue to leave." Harry shook his head when Draco and Hermione merely waved their hands at him, not even bothering to break their kiss.

By the time the pair broke the kiss, Harry had gone and they were all alone.

"So what do you want to do now?" Draco asked.

"Nothing," Hermione replied. "I just want to stay here, with you. I don't want to worry about anything, or think about anything, I just want to enjoy some time alone with you."

"That sounds good to me." Draco grinned at Hermione, before reconnecting their lips.

After sharing a few more kisses, the pair rearranged themselves on the sofa so that Draco was lying on the sofa, while Hermione was half lying beside him and half lying on top of him. Lying together, the couple spent a couple of hours chattering about life in general. They didn't discuss the Triwizard Tournament, or anything that had happened that day. They also steered clear of discussing Voldemort and his plans. Mainly they spoke about the summer, and what fun they could have spending some time together out in the open. For a while they were content to be teenagers, basking in the first blossoming stages of romance.


	22. Chapter 22

Even though Draco had only informed his Slytherins friends and Hermione and Harry about what was going on with Dumbledore, word soon spread around the castle. Within a few days the entire student population knew that in the summer he would be having a meeting with the Minister for Magic and his position as Headmaster was severely under threat. Surprisingly it wasn't just the Slytherins that were happy about the news, a decent portion of the rest of the students were all pretty glad that Dumbledore was in trouble. Of course he did still have plenty of support, and the most vocal of all in his championing of the headmaster was Ron.

Ron was still bitching about the trouble Dumbledore was in on the morning of the next Hogsmeade trip. On a whole Harry and Hermione had managed not to get too involved in his rantings. Neither of them wanted to publically express support for the headmaster, but at the same time they didn't want to alienate Ron by agreeing with the Slytherins. They were both hoping the time would come soon when they didn't need to keep Ron on side, but until that happened they both knew they were better off keeping quiet and pretending to agree with his view on matters.

"It's bloody shocking," He grumbled as they began to walk down to the village. "What right does Lucius Malfoy have to try and get Dumbledore sacked?"

"As Head of Governors, every right," Hermione answered. "It'll be part of his responsibilities to make sure the students are safe, and he clearly feels they aren't."

"We're safer with Dumbledore in the castle, than without him," Ron argued. "Everyone knows You-Know-Who is back, and everyone knows he's afraid of Dumbledore. Why do you think he's been quiet since the world cup? He wants Dumbledore out of the way so he can gain power, and Lucius Malfoy is making that happen."

"Maybe you're right," Hermione said, causing Harry to look at her in bewilderment. She never agreed with Ron, and it was strange for her to be doing so on a subject she had strong opposing views on. "Maybe Lucius is trying to get rid of Dumbledore for Voldemort. But you have to admit, Dumbledore is making it easy for him."

"What do you mean, he's making it easy for him?" Ron asked with a confused frown.

"It's not as if Lucius has to make up stuff to make Dumbledore look bad, is it?" Hermione said with a shrug. "We've been at school for three and a half years, and Dumbledore's made a whole host of bad decisions. His choice of Professors often leave a lot to be desired, he willingly brought a dangerous magical object into the school in our first year, he didn't inform parents that students were being petrified, and finally he kidnapped students and placed them in danger in the Black Lake."

"If you say it like that you make him sound like a monster," Ron grumbled. "Dumbledore's a good guy, Hermione."

"That might be the case, but you can't argue he makes bad choices," Hermione replied.

Harry smirked as he watched Ron try to formulate an argument in his head. However, the redhead couldn't come up with anything to counteract what Hermione was saying as she was speaking the truth. Even Ron, who thought Dumbledore was great, couldn't argue against some of his choices being wrong ones. Of course he could argue that some of his decisions were well meaning but had just backfired, but obviously that hadn't occurred to Ron as he struggled to defend the headmaster.

"Debating this really isn't getting us anywhere," Harry finally said, knowing he had to step in otherwise Ron was brood on things all day. "We all know what we want to happen, but it's out of our hands. All we can do is wait until summer and see what happens."

"You're right, Harry," Ron admitted with a sigh. "We can't help Dumbledore. We just have to hope that Fudge makes the right decision."

"Yes, we will," Hermione agreed, even though she knew for her and Harry, the right decision would be the opposite of what Ron considered to be right.

"Let's hit Honeydukes first," Harry suggested brightly. "I could do with a sweet fix."

"Okay, but I also want to visit the quidditch shop," Ron said. "I'm determined to try out for the team next year, and I hear they sell a good book containing tips to improve your performance. I'm going to spend the summer practising my flying."

"That sounds like fun," Harry said, giving Ron an encouraging smile. He'd never really seen Ron flying as he'd never watched previous years try-out and the lessons they took in first year were hardly a good representation of how good a flyer he was, so he had no idea if Ron was good enough to make the team the following year.

"Maybe you can visit in the summer and we can go flying together," Ron suggested eagerly. "That would be so awesome."

"Yeah, I guess it would be," Harry replied, much less enthusiastically. So far he and Hermione had been able to avoid visiting Ron too much in the summer, but after the Weasleys had taken them to the world cup the previous summer, he doubted they'd be able to refuse any offers to go back as easily.

"You can come too, Hermione," Ron added as they entered Honeydukes. "Not the flying of course, unless you wanted to. I meant you could come and stay for a few weeks in the summer."

Hermione forced a smile out as she picked up a bag of mints. "That's very kind of you, Ron."

Wandering through the sweet shop, the trio picked up a few sweets. Or rather Harry and Hermione picked up a few sweets, while Ron went slightly overboard with his haul.

"I hope I've still got enough money for my book," Ron mused as they exited the sweet shop and headed towards the quidditch shop.

"While you two are in there, I'm popping next door," Hermione said. Next door to the quidditch shop was the book shop, and it held more appeal to Hermione than the quidditch shop.

Ten minutes later the trio joined back up outside the quidditch shop and continued on their way. They wandered the village for another ten minutes, before Ron suddenly nudged Harry in the ribs and gestured towards the alley behind The Three Broomsticks. Sitting in the alley, watching Harry and his friends, was a large black dog.

"Fancy a walk?" Harry asked as the dog turned and headed up into the hills.

"Why not," Hermione answered with a shrug.

Making sure no-one was really paying any attention to them, the trio followed Sirius up into the hills. When they arrived at the cave he'd been sleeping in, Sirius had changed from his dog form and waiting eagerly for them. The second Harry stepped inside the cave, Sirius engulfed him in a hug.

"It's great to see you, Harry."

"It's good to see you too, Sirius," Harry replied. "How have you been?"

"Not bad," Sirius replied. "A friend's been making sure I don't starve."

"How is Lupin?" Hermione asked. It didn't take a genius to work out who Sirius's friend was.

Sirius chuckled at Hermione, and her ability to spot things others didn't always see. "Remus is fine. He sends his regards."

"I wonder if we'll ever see Professor Lupin again," Ron said with a sigh.

"You'll see him sooner than you think," Sirius replied with a grin.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Do you know something we don't?"

"Of course I do," Sirius chuckled. "But don't worry, I'm not going to keep the three of you in the dark. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."

"Why don't you begin with telling us what you know," Harry said as he sat down on a nearby large rock. "How will we see Lupin again?"

"I'm sure you're aware that Dumbledore reformed the Order of the Phoenix following You-Know-Who's return during the summer," Sirius began. "Well, he's wanting a permanent headquarters, and we're going to be using my old house."

"Is he getting you a pardon?" Ron asked excitedly.

"Nothing like that," Sirius replied with a rueful shake of his head. "The house is going to be hidden by a secrecy charm, so no-one will know I'm there."

"Even so, what makes you think we'll be allowed to visit?" Harry asked. "We weren't allowed to be involved last summer."

"Last summer was a few meetings, things have progressed since then," Sirius answered. "With the headquarters set up, it'll be safe for the three of you to be around. Mind you, I can't guarantee you'll be involved in anything. That's not my call, unfortunately."

"I'm sure Mum will manage to keep us away from anything interesting," Ron grumbled.

"Does this mean you're leaving?" Harry questioned.

"Not yet," Sirius replied. "I'm not going anywhere as long as the Triwizard Tournament is happening and you're in danger. Although, I have to say you're handling things amazingly. James would be so proud of you."

Harry inwardly grimaced at the mention of James, although he managed to give Sirius a weak smile. "Do you really think I'm handling things okay?"

"I do," Sirius confirmed with a nod. "You've been amazing in the first two tasks."

"He has, hasn't he?" Ron said proudly. "We all think he's going to win the tournament."

"I don't think I will," Harry said with a shrug. "All the others are so much more experienced, and Professor Dumbledore has warned us that the final task will be the hardest one."

"How can things possibly get harder?" Ron grumbled. "I never could have coped with either of the first two tasks."

"All Dumbledore said was the final task would be the ultimate test of our magical abilities," Harry said.

"Sounds daunting," Hermione replied. "When is the final task?"

"In a couple of weeks, just after the Easter holidays," Harry answered. "I think there's then going to be some sort of big fancy celebration for the winner."

"But what do you think will happen with whoever put Harry's name into the goblet?" Ron asked. "Everyone seems to think it happened because they wanted Harry dead. But what happens when he survives?"

"I don't know," Sirius replied quietly. "But I do know, the danger isn't over, if anything it's growing daily. So far Harry has faced every task and came out on top, whoever is behind this won't be happy. You all need to be on your toes more than ever. Harry's life might just depend on it. Whatever you do, be careful, all three of you. There's danger up at Hogwarts, and my gut says we haven't seen the worst of it yet."

After his ominous warning, Sirius changed the subject and for the next hour the three teenagers stayed chatting with Sirius. When it was time for them to head back down into the village to grab some lunch, Sirius changed back into a dog and walked them back to the village. Once back in the village, Sirius dodged into an alleyway, and they knew he would hang around until he knew they were safely back up at Hogwarts. After grabbing a quick bite to eat in The Three Broomsticks, the trio decided to head back to school. As expected, Sirius accompanied them at the side of the road, and he didn't disappear until the castle itself was in sight.

"I don't know about anyone else, but I've got serious chills now," Ron muttered as they returned to Gryffindor Tower.

"I know what you mean," Harry agreed.

With everything that had been going on, it was easy for Harry to forget that someone unknown had put his name into the Goblet of Fire. He'd been so concerned with surviving the tournament, he hadn't had much time to think about who had entered him into it and why. Obviously, Dumbledore theory that it was someone working for his grandfather was wrong, but it wasn't as if his family had a better idea. They'd initially thought it was Dumbledore, but it was clear he'd been just as stunned as everyone else when Harry had been chosen to be part of the tournament. That really just left someone acting alone, but Harry didn't have a clue who. As far as he knew, he hadn't done anything to anyone to warrant them entering him into a deadly tournament.

"Let's try not to think about it at the moment," Hermione urged.

She was just as concerned as Harry, but she had faith her family would work out who had put Harry's name into the goblet. And when they did work out who was responsible she had no doubt that they would regret their actions. No-one got away with endangering a member of The Dark Lord's family.

* * *

 **A/N – Just a quick note to say there won't be any more updates of COTD until next Monday, as I'll be too busy with family over the next few days to think about publishing over the holidays. I hope everyone has a great Christmas, and I'll be back on Monday.**


	23. Chapter 23

Despite Sirius's timely reminder that someone in Hogwarts was out to get Harry, he didn't have much time to think about it as the third task was just around the corner. It was only a few days after the Hogsmeade trip that mysterious plants started to sprout on the quidditch pitch, and rumours began to spread that was where the third and final task was to be held. Severus confirmed that the third task would be held at the quidditch pitch, and he informed Harry the task involved finding the Triwizard Cup in a maze, filled with magical dangers.

With the third task approaching, Harry threw himself into preparing for his last challenge. Hermione and Draco helped him practice his spells when they could, and they went over almost every charm and hex they'd learnt. Even Ron tried to help Harry and he often practised with him. Of course Ron didn't know exactly what the third task involved, but as Harry pointed out, he was going to need to be right on top of his magic if he wanted to survive.

Harry continued his practising all through the Easter holidays, as the trio didn't go home. Hermione asked Severus about going home, but he brushed her off, saying that Voldemort was busy and it was best for them to stay at school. Although, even with other students around, Hermione still got to spend time with Draco and even Harry managed to get a few hours away from Ron to spend with the blond Slytherin.

By the end of the Easter holidays, the plants in the quidditch pitch were fully grown and they formed a formidable looking maze. Draco suggested that Harry tried to go up to one of the tallest towers in the castle and try to map out the maze in his head, but when he tried to do just that, he couldn't find a suitable view of the maze. The best view he could get was from the Astronomy Tower, but even then it looked as though there was some sort of spell on the maze so it wasn't clear to view from above. With that idea out, Harry just focused on perfecting his magic as he prepared to enter the maze.

The day of the third task dawned two weeks after the Easter holidays. It was a bright, spring day, and unlike the other two tasks it wasn't taking place until the afternoon. On the morning of the third task, the school began to fill up with the judges, reporters and family members of the champions. Even the Minister of Magic turned up, although all the rumours suggested it was because he wanted to watch Dumbledore in action.

Much to Harry's chagrin, Molly and Arthur Weasley turned up to support him. Even though he barely knew the couple they were treating him as though he was part of the family, and he found it disconcerting. He was also put off by the fact that while they were polite to Hermione, they never really tried to get to know her, they were only interested in Harry. Molly spent ages talking about Harry visiting over the summer, and she only mentioned Hermione as an afterthought when Ginny brought her up.

After spending almost all morning having to put up with Weasleys, not to mention doing his bit talking to the reporters, Harry was relieved when it was lunch time. With everything that was going on, lunch was just a buffet meal, and after grabbing a plate of food he settled himself under a tree beside the Black Lake with Hermione.

"I can't wait for this to be all over," He muttered. "I think this has been the most tiring year yet."

"We're not going to get bored at Hogwarts, are we?" Hermione laughed, leaning her head against Harry's shoulder.

"I don't think that'll ever be an issue," Harry replied with a smile.

The pair remained under the tree for a while longer, until Harry had to go and get ready for the final task. Getting up, Hermione wrapped her arms around Harry and gave her nephew a hug.

"You'll be fine, Harry," She reassured him.

"I hope so," Harry replied with a nervous sigh. "For some reason, I'm so much more worried about this task."

"Well you shouldn't be, you're well prepared," Hermione said supportively. "Just keep calm and remember the spells we've been practising."

Harry nodded, and thanking his aunt for her support, he headed off to join up with the other champions. Hermione watched Harry disappear back into the castle, before she set off down to the quidditch pitch. The normal stands had been transformed into one big stand at one end of the pitch, and the second Hermione entered the stadium, she heard Ron calling her name. Finding the redhead in the crowd, she waved to let him know she'd spotted him as she headed towards him. Ron was sitting with the other Gryffindors, and he'd saved her a seat in between him and Ginny.

"How's Harry?" Ginny asked, biting her lip nervously as the seats around them began to fill up.

"Nervous," Hermione answered. "But he'll be fine. He's well prepared."

"And he's well supported," Ron whispered, nudging Hermione and pointing to the end of the stands.

Hermione had to lean forward slightly in her seat, before she could see what Ron was pointing at. Sitting beside the stand was a large, black dog. For some reason the people sitting nearest to where Sirius was, seemed oblivious to the dog, and Hermione had to wonder if he had some sort of spell in himself to hide from people who didn't know him.

Hermione didn't have long to muse on how Sirius was sitting so openly at the task, as her attention was grabbed by the Slytherins settling into seats almost directly opposite them. Hermione suspected Draco had picked the seats deliberately, and when she caught his eye, she knew she was right and he'd made sure to sit as close to her as he could. Exchanging a quick smile with her boyfriend, she turned her attention back to the pitch down below them.

The judges were all settling into their seats at the front of the stands, and the families of the champions were all also sitting near the front. Fudge had settled himself next to Lucius, and the pair looked to be in deep conversation. A few members of the Hogwarts staff were in seats just behind the judges, but the majority of them, including a nervous looking Severus, were standing in front of the maze. Just looking around, Hermione noticed the only people missing were Dumbledore and the four champions.

As if on cue, Hermione spotted Dumbledore and the four champions entering the stadium. Hermione shot Harry a smile as she spotted Ron giving him the thumbs up from beside her. Harry smiled back at the pair, before Moody put his hand on his shoulder and directed him to his starting positon. With the four champions lined up outside the maze, Dumbledore took his seat with the judges and Barty Crouch got to his feet.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen to the third and final task," He began, magnifying his voice so he could address the crowd. "Behind me stands a maze, filled with all sorts of dangers. In the centre of that maze is The Triwizard Cup. The task is simple, whoever reaches the cup first, wins the tournament. The results of the previous two tasks will determined how the champions enter the maze. Mr Potter will enter first, followed by Mr Krum and Mr Diggory, and finally Miss Delacour. If any of the champions get into trouble, they're to release red sparks from their wand and remain where they are. Help will be sent to them and they will be removed from the task and the tournament."

Turning to the champions, Crouch checked they all knew what they were doing, before he retook his seat. Once Crouch had sat down, an opening appeared in the front of the maze. Hermione wasn't sure if it meant the task had started, until Moody pushed Harry forward. Taking a nervous glance around, Harry pulled out his wand and ventured into the maze. The second Harry entered the maze, it closed behind him and didn't open until it was time for Viktor to enter. Once the four champions were all inside the maze, the Professors set off patrolling the outside of the construction, keeping an eye out for trouble, while everyone else sat back and waited for something to happen.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

* * *

Severus paced around the maze, his anxiety growing with every minute Harry was inside and he couldn't see what was happening with his son. He'd been in the same position with the second task, but somehow this seemed worse. Severus had an awful sense of foreboding about the day, and every instinct in his body was screaming that something was wrong. It was the same feeling he'd had when Lily failed to show up with Harry all those years ago, and he was just praying that the day didn't end as awful as that one.

His annoyance of what had happened with Harry being entered into the tournament had grown daily, and it was now a major irritation to him that they still had no idea who had done it. Severus had gone over the suspects a thousand times in his head, and he was still none the wiser. He was convinced that Dumbledore was innocent, as the old man was so convinced that Harry was the supposed saviour of the wizarding world, and he wouldn't do anything that would risk his life now that Voldemort was publically back. Dumbledore's other associates were also likely innocent, as Severus couldn't think of any reason any of them would enter Harry into the tournament.

Looking at those with dark connections, he was left with Igor Karkaroff. But even then, it just didn't seem right. He and Lucius had spoken to Igor a few times, and the headmaster of Durmstrang seemed eager to reconnect with The Dark Lord. He also seemed just as baffled by everyone else at Harry's participation in the Tournament, and he was even a bit put out by it as Harry's presence was deflecting some of the attention away from his protégé, Viktor Krum.

To be honest the only person Severus was uncomfortable around was Alastor Moody. If it wasn't for the fact Moody was an ex-Auror and a strong ally of Dumbledore's, Severus's suspicions would have been firmly on him, after all they'd never had many trustworthy Defence Professors. However, Severus was putting his bad feeling down to the fact Moody clearly didn't trust him. The ex-Auror never let an opportunity pass to mention Severus's mark, and Severus was even beginning to wonder if he was whispering in Dumbledore's ear. The last thing he wanted was for Moody to convince Dumbledore that he wasn't trustworthy and his position at Hogwarts to come under threat.

Refocusing on Harry, Severus turned his attention back to the maze. Before the task started, he'd tried to gain some sort of magical blue print for the maze, but it was impossible due to all the security charms surrounding it. Chances were, no-one knew just how to get to the middle of the maze. The champions truly were alone inside, and it was up to them to use all their magical ability to reach the centre. Severus just hoped Harry's magic was strong enough to keep him out of trouble.

Severus had barely finished his thought when red sparks shot up from nearby. Taking off in a sprint, he reached the area at the same time as McGonagall. Together they blasted their way through the outer layer of the maze, forming a small hole. Severus poked his head through the hole, half hoping to find Harry on the other side, having called it a day. However, he found a most peculiar sight. An angry looking Viktor Krum was tied to the maze with vines, his wand lying abandoned by his feet.

"Let me out," Viktor screamed. "I'm going to kill him."

"What is going on?" McGonagall cried from behind Severus.

"I think Krum is under the Imperius Curse," Severus answered. From what he'd seen of Viktor, he was a mild mannered boy, and the wizard in front of him was raging with anger and seemed very dangerous. "Or at the very least, someone's altered his personality."

"Let me go," Viktor repeated, thrashing against the bindings. "I want to kill the bastard."

"Kill who?" Severus asked as he and McGonagall got to work widening the hole in the maze.

"Potter," Viktor snarled. "I'm going to kill Potter."

"Oh my," McGonagall whispered as the two Professors paused what they were doing. "I think we need help."

Severus nodded as McGonagall sent a message to the other members of staff. Standing back, he contemplated what an enchanted Viktor Krum meant for his son. Firstly, it meant whoever wanted him in the tournament was present, and likely had access to the champions. And secondly, and more vitally, it meant Harry could be trapped inside a maze with two other people who wanted to kill him. He doubted whoever had done this had only targeted Krum, which meant that the magical dangers in the maze weren't the only ones Harry was up against. To get out of the maze alive, he not only had to survive the task itself, but he also had to survive a potentially murderous Fleur Delacour and Cedric Diggory.


	24. Chapter 24

Sprinting around a corner, Harry skidded to a halt as he tried to get his breathing back under control. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in the maze, but he'd already faced more than his fair share of danger. He'd entered fully expecting magical danger, which he'd faced in the form of various creatures and magical obstacles. However, he hadn't expected to have to deal with murderous competitors.

Less than ten minutes ago, he'd just finished battling past some vicious crab like creatures, when he'd heard rustling in the hedges behind him. Expecting another trial, he'd been relieved when Viktor Krum had burst from the bushes. However, his relief was short lived as the Bulgarian wizard immediately shot the killing curse at him. Luckily Harry had dodged the curse, but the older wizard had then changed tactics and tried to physically hurt him. It hadn't taken Harry long to work out something was wrong with Viktor, but that didn't alleviate the danger he'd posed.

It had taken all of Harry's skills to get away from Viktor unscathed. He'd used the fact he was smaller to wriggle out of the older wizard's grasp, and using his speed he'd managed to ensnare Viktor with vines and tie him safely to the maze walls. Not sure what was going on with Viktor, Harry had used his wand to shoot off red sparks before leaving Viktor to be rescued. Since then he'd battled past a section of animated hands, and he was now taking a quick breather before continuing.

"Maybe I should just give up," He muttered to himself as he cautiously pressed forward.

Of course he had no intention of quitting the tournament. He may not have asked for his name to be put forward, but he wasn't going to give whoever had entered him into the tournament the pleasure of seeing him fail. He was going to carry on and show whoever had done this that they'd severely underestimated him. He was stronger and smarter than people realised, and he wasn't going to just give in. He was going to fight to the bitter end, and hopefully even emerge victorious.

Turning another corner, Harry froze when he spotted Fleur standing motionless with her back to him. Wary after what had happened with Viktor, Harry approached the witch with a fair bit of caution. However, he was also worried in case something had happened to her.

"Fleur," He called softly. "Are you okay?"

"Now I am," She replied in a breathless voice.

When she suddenly turned round, Harry took a step backwards. The jacket she was wearing was open fully, and the t-shirt she'd been wearing underneath was long gone, leaving her in just a black push up bra. Harry couldn't help but stare at Fleur, and her heaving bosom, as she slowly sauntered towards him.

"You're such a pretty boy," She purred with a cat like smile.

"No." Shaking his head, Harry turned away from her. When he was looking at her, it was like he was under some sort of spell and he couldn't think clearly. "This isn't you, Fleur. Something's happened to you."

"Nothing's happened to me," Fleur insisted. "I've just realised how lovely you are Harry. Don't you think I'm lovely?"

Harry opened his mouth to reply, all the time avoiding looking at Fleur, when all of a sudden her powder blue jacket landed at his feet. Taking a nervous gulp, Harry glanced up and saw Fleur was just standing in her bra. Hastily looking back down, he wondered how he was going to deal with an amorous, half naked Fleur.

"Look Fleur, I think you're one of the prettiest witches I've ever seen, but I'm still only fourteen. I'm too young to think about girls," Harry said diplomatically.

"I could show you everything you'd need to know," Fleur offered seductively. "Just come to me, Harry."

"No," Harry replied with a vehement shake of his head. "I'm not interested Fleur. Put your jacket back on and we continue with the task."

Harry bent down to pick Fleur's jacket up, just as the witch let out a high pitched squeal and sent a fireball towards him. Luckily the fireball skimmed over the top of his head, and he was able to drop the rest of the way to the ground unscathed. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry swore at the hole the fireball had made in the bush behind him. Tightening his grip on his wand, he turned to face Fleur and found her teasing manner had disappeared and in its place was murderous rage. Her pretty face was scrunched up in anger, and suddenly the fact she was just wearing a bra wasn't as distracting due to the fact she wanted to kill him.

"Here we go again," Harry muttered as he rolled out of the way of another spell and sprung back to his feet.

Pushing aside the fact he was fighting a girl, Harry focused on avoiding her attacks and trying to disarm her. He didn't want to hurt Fleur, but he knew that if push came to shove, his life was worth more to him than hers. Luckily it didn't come to that, and apart from one small cut to her face, he managed to disarm Fleur and restrain her the same way he did with Viktor in less than fifteen minutes.

"Damn it Fleur," Harry cried, wiping at blood from a cut on his right ear. "What's wrong with you?"

"You," Fleur hissed. "You're the competition. Eliminate the competition, eliminate Harry Potter."

"You've been brainwashed," Harry deduced. He wasn't sure if Fleur was just under the Imperius curse or if something else was at play, but he knew someone had affected her personality.

Picking Fleur's jacket up from the ground, he draped it around the still snarling witch's shoulders, before raising his wand and releasing a stream of red sparks into the air. Satisfied that someone would come and get Fleur before she caused any more trouble, Harry headed off to continue with the task.

Harry was so busy wondering who could have cursed Fleur and Viktor, that he wasn't paying close attention to his surroundings and a vine suddenly whipped out from the hedge and wrapped around his left ankle.

"Oh no you don't," Harry snarled. "Relashio!" He cried, causing the vines to release his hold on him.

As more vines began to snake their way out of the bushes, Harry took off in a sprint. Dodging vines, he ran as fast as he could until the danger was over. However, he'd no sooner escaped the vines than he turned another corner and his feet started to sink into the ground.

"Bollocks," He swore, struggling to pull his feet out of the quicksand that he could now see paved the way for a short length of the maze.

The more he struggled, the more he sunk into the quicksand, so taking a deep breath he stopped struggling to avoid sinking any further. By this time Harry was almost knee deep in the quicksand, and he didn't want to do anything that would pull him down any further. Luckily, just standing didn't seem to be having any adverse effects, so he had time to think about what to do.

After a few minutes, he decided he needed something to pull him from the quicksand. Not sure if it would work, he raised his wand and summoned his broom. Harry felt as if he waiting an eternity, but finally his broom soared into sight and hovered slightly above his head. Grasping onto the broom, Harry gave it instructions to rise. As the broom rose higher, with Harry clinging on for dear life, the quicksand began to fight back and try to keep Harry stuck. However, Harry was determined not to remain stuck, and he clung onto the broom as it pulled him to freedom. Harry remained clinging onto the broom as it moved past the quicksand. Once the quicksand was safely behind him, he dropped from the broom onto solid ground and sent it back to his dorm.

Not bothering to brush himself down, Harry cautiously turned the next corner and let out a whoop of joy as he spotted the Triwizard Cup sitting on top of a stone platform. Rushing forward, he was just about to grab the cup when he was blasted off his feet. Harry went tumbling to the ground, his wand flying from his hand as he got a face full of soil.

"Not so impressive now, are we Potter?" A voice sneered from above him.

Rolling onto his back, Harry was unsurprised to find Cedric Diggory glaring down at him, his wand pointed at his face. Like Viktor and Fleur before him, his features were distorted with anger and all his focus was on Harry.

"Nice one Cedric, you've got me," Harry said, attempting to smile up at the Hufflepuff. "You can take the cup and win."

"Don't worry, I'm going to, but first I'm going to eliminate you," Cedric said with an eerie smile.

"Why?" Harry questioned as he struggled to sit up, his hand groping for his wand. "I'm no threat. I'm down and out. Take the cup and win the tournament."

"I need to eliminate the competition," Cedric snarled. "Eliminate Harry Potter."

Harry shuddered slightly as Cedric uttered the same words as Fleur. He tried to remember if Viktor had also said the same thing, but it all seemed so long ago now. Finally wrapping his fingers around his wand, Harry snapped it towards Cedric as he got to his feet.

"I don't want to fight, Cedric," He said calmly. "I'm not the competition, I withdraw. Take the cup and win. Win for Hogwarts, win for Hufflepuff, win for your father." Harry kept his eyes on Cedric the entire time, and he spotted a flicker of the boy he knew when he mentioned his father. "Make him proud Cedric," He continued, playing on the part of Cedric that was fighting whatever had been done to him. "Take the cup, and make your father proud."

Slowly dropping his wand, Cedric turned towards the cup. Harry was still on high alert in case Cedric changed his mind and turned back to attack him, but he'd seemed to now be focused on the cup. Letting Cedric win the tournament seemed like a small price to pay to Harry, and he happily watched as Cedric picked the cup up from the stone alter it was resting on.

The second Cedric touched the cup, two things happened simultaneously. Fireworks lit up the sky above the maze, with Cedric's name being spelt out in yellow flames. But at the same time, Cedric began to convulse and Harry could see sparks of magic flying around the older wizard. Obviously the fireworks were to mark the winner, but whatever was happening to Cedric wasn't meant to be happening.

"Cedric," Harry cried, running forward as Cedric collapsed to the ground, his body still twitching.

Not wanting to touch the cup himself, Harry used magic to get it out of Cedric's hands. The second the cup was out of Cedric's grip, he stopped convulsing, but he was lying unmoving in the centre of the maze. Checking to see if he had a pulse, Harry found a weak one. Not knowing what else to do, he raised his wand and let out a series of red sparks.

"Help!" He cried at the top of his voice as he continued to shoot off a continuous stream of red sparks. "Someone help. We need help here. Please someone, help."

After what seemed like an eternity, but was likely less than a minute, Harry heard voices nearby. Lowering his wand, he rechecked on Cedric and found he still had a faint pulse.

"Hello," Dumbledore's voice came from nearby. "Cedric?"

"Over here," Harry cried, re-raising his wand and shooting off more sparks. "We need help."

"Harry," Dumbledore cried, sounding slightly nearer. "We're coming, stay put."

Seconds later, a hole appeared in one of the bushes and Dumbledore came bursting through. Directly behind him was Severus, whose face broke out in relief when he saw Harry seemed unhurt. Behind Severus was several other Professors, including McGonagall and Moody, and bringing up the rear was Lucius.

"What happened?" Dumbledore asked as he rushed to Cedric's side. Lucius joined Dumbledore in dealing with Cedric, while Moody carefully retrieved the cup that was lying discarded on the floor.

"When he touched the cup he started to convulse," Harry replied. "I could see sparks of magic shooting off him, and he didn't stop moving until I got the cup from his hands."

"Did he try and kill you?" Severus asked. His concern was evident for Harry to see, but doubted anyone else but Lucius would be able to detect anything in his father's voice or demeanour.

"We found Mr Krum and Miss Delacour," McGonagall added in concern. "We think they've both been cursed."

"I know, I dealt with them both," Harry replied. "And yes, Cedric was the same. Luckily I was able to get through to him, and persuade him to take the cup and win the tournament." As he was talking a horrible thought occurred to Harry, and he turned to Severus with horror etched onto his face. "I did this," He whispered. "I did this to Cedric. I made him take the cup, and now it's hurt him."

"It's not your fault," Severus insisted.

"No, it's not," McGonagall agreed, putting a comforting arm around Harry's shoulders. "If anything, you're a hero. You've saved Cedric's life."

"Really?" Harry turned back to where Cedric was still lying on the floor with Dumbledore and Lucius kneeling beside him.

"Really," Dumbledore confirmed, turning his head to face Harry. "We've stabilised Mr Diggory, and he should be just fine. However, if he'd been alone and he'd held onto that cup for even a few minutes longer, he would have been dead before we reached him. You saved him, Harry."

"We need to get him moved to the hospital wing," Lucius said. "And someone needs to tell his father."

"Minerva, gather the students in the Great Hall," Dumbledore ordered. "Severus and Alastor can accompany Mr Diggory and Harry back to the hospital wing. I'll speak to Amos."

"And then we need to deal with what's happened," Moody said with a snarl. "Someone tried to kill the Potter boy in there. All the other champions were infected in some way, and the cup was booby trapped. Someone didn't want him to get out of this maze alive."

"So it would seem," Dumbledore replied with a solemn nod. "And it is something we're going to deal with, but for not the students and their safety come first. Both Harry and Mr Diggory need medical attention. We'll get to the bottom of what happened, don't worry."

Before Harry could even think about arguing that he didn't need medical attention, he found himself whisked off to the hospital wing with his father and Moody. Lucius also accompanied them, and when they arrived, he found both Fleur and Viktor sound asleep in beds.

"Are they okay?" Harry asked as Madam Pomfrey ushered him into a bed.

"They'll be fine," Madam Pomfrey replied. "They're just sleeping off the aftereffects of the spell. Now sit here, and don't move. I'll see to you in a minute, but right now I need to check on Mr Diggory."

Pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them, Harry contemplated what had just happened. Someone had enchanted three people to try and kill him, and booby trapped a cup. Somehow he didn't think they'd be happy they failed, and his gut told him they would try again. He just had to be alert to danger, and hope that the culprit could be found before they did what they'd set out to do and succeed in killing him.


	25. Chapter 25

Madam Pomfrey double checked Cedric and made sure he was stable, before turning her attention to Harry. Once she'd established Harry was fine, just a bit battered and bruised, she dismissed the two Professors and Lucius.

"Mr Potter will be perfectly fine," She assured them. "As will the others. Now, if you don't mind, I need to see to my patients."

Severus gave Harry a reluctant glance, before turning to leave with Lucius. Thinking Moody was right behind them, the two men set off towards the stairs. However, what they didn't realise was that Moody hadn't left the hospital wing, and the moment they were out of sight, he hurried over to Harry's bedside.

"Get up," Moody ordered Harry. "You have to come with me."

"Why?" Harry asked, glancing around for any sign of Madam Pomfrey but finding that she'd disappeared.

"I know who tried to kill you," Moody answered. "You're not safe here. Let's go to my office, and we can speak to Dumbledore."

Curious to see who Moody had pegged as the culprit, Harry hopped out of bed and headed off towards the door with the Defence Professor.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Madam Pomfrey called, emerging from her office.

"Harry's coming with me," Moody answered. "He's fit to leave, isn't he?"

"He is, but I would have thought Professor Dumbledore would be wanting to speak to him," Madam Pomfrey replied.

"He can do that in my office," Moody replied with a shrug as he pulled open the door. "Come on Harry, let's go."

Leaving Madam Pomfrey to get back to the students that really needed her, Harry and Moody exited the hospital wing. As they headed to Moody's office, Harry tried to get him to share his thoughts, but the former Auror was remaining secretive. Clearly his naturally suspicious nature was in play, and he wasn't risking sharing his thoughts out in the open where anyone could hear.

"Take a seat, Harry," Moody said as they entered the office.

Harry sat down in front of the Professors desk, as he set about making a cup of tea. He'd already decided that Moody wasn't going to speak until he was ready, so he didn't see the point in pushing him. Instead he waited until Moody had handed him his cup of tea and taken his own seat before he asked again what Moody knew.

"I've always known who entered you into the tournament," Moody said casually as he sipped his tea.

"What?" Harry looked at the Professor in shock. "But why haven't you said anything before now?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Moody questioned with a sly smirk. "It would spoil all my plans."

"All your plans?" Harry questioned, spluttering on his tea. "What's going on Professor?"

Chuckling, Moody got to his feet and began to pace in front of the fireplace. "Ah, so naïve, Harry. In fact everyone in this stupid school is so believing. Even Dumbledore didn't recognise things aren't as they seem."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked warily as he put his tea down on the desk and reached into his pocket for his wand.

"I don't think so," Moody said, summoning Harry's wand before he could lay his hands on it. Another flick of Moody's wand had Harry tied to the chair. "Now that's better. Where was I?"

"You were grandstanding," Harry muttered. Even as he was struggling against his bindings he knew it was useless, he was at Moody's mercy and all he could do was try and stall him and hope help arrived before he was a goner.

"Not grandstanding, explaining," Moody corrected. Pausing his face broke out into a wide smile. "Ah, here comes the change. This will explain a few things."

Harry opened his mouth to try and keep Moody talking, but before he could speak the man in front of him started to change appearance. The one-legged, fairly stout wizard, began to grow taller, his face started to thin out and he started to get younger. Within a couple of minutes, Moody had disappeared and in his place was a wizard with dark hair and a manic grin.

"Surprise," He called.

"Who the hell are you?" Harry spat. It didn't take a genius to work out that someone had been posing as Moody for the last year, and that someone had been the one responsible for his entry into the Triwizard Tournament.

The wizard opened his mouth to answer, but at the moment the door to the office burst open and Severus rushed into the room, closely followed by Dumbledore. Taking one look at the scene, Severus blasted the dark haired wizard off his feet, knocking him into a wall and freed Harry from his bindings. Slowly entering the room, Dumbledore stepped in front of the dazed wizard on the floor and plucked Moody and Harry's wands from his hands.

"Barty," He said quietly as he shook his head.

"Barty? Crouch's son?" Harry asked with a frown. "I thought he was dead."

"So did I," Severus said, looking at the man with narrowed eyes. "I heard he died in Azkaban."

"I thought so too," Dumbledore said as he restrained the younger wizard and used magic to bring him back to full alertness. "How are you alive Barty?"

"Ask dear old Dad," Barty spat. "He sprung me from Azkaban and kept me prisoner at home for all these years."

"How did you escape if your father has been keeping you locked up?" Dumbledore asked.

"The old fool let me go to the quidditch world cup," Barty said with a mocking laugh. "He thought sticking my under an invisibility spell and having his pathetic elf watching over me would keep me in line. When The Dark Lord caused a stir, I slipped away from Winky and escaped."

"You went back to Voldemort?" Dumbledore questioned.

"No, I didn't know where he was, and he never called me," Barty replied with a snarl, his anger clear for them all to see. "Instead, I decided to prove I could be useful to him. I decided to kill Harry Potter for him."

"How did you know to pose as Alastor Moody?" Dumbledore queried with a frown.

"That was easy," Barty laughed. "I'd heard the Minister discussing his appointment with Lucius Malfoy. It was easy to find Moody, overpower him and keep him locked up while I posed as him. And no-one had a clue, not even the people he was supposedly friends with."

Dumbledore shook his head, ashamed to admit Barty was right. For a year, he'd treat the imposter like his old friend, but never once realised he wasn't the real Alastor Moody.

"So what happened Crouch?" Severus asked as Dumbledore internally scolded himself for not recognising the imposter. "When the tournament was announced, you saw an opportunity?"

"Precisely," Barty replied with a smile. "See Severus, deep down you've still got potential to be dark. It's just a shame you're no more than Dumbledore's lap dog these days."

"Shut up and tell us what happened," Severus snarled.

"It was all fairly easy, I just entered Harry's name under a fourth school," Barty said. "As expected, his name came out of the goblet and then I just had to sit back and wait for him to mess up. I admit, he's more resourceful than I'd thought, I never thought he would survive two tasks unscathed."

"So you thought you'd make sure he didn't survive the third," Dumbledore concluded.

"I tried, but the bugger has more lives than a cat," Barty snarled, glaring at Harry. "As I sent each of the champions into the maze, I enchanted them so they would eliminate Harry. Just in case that failed, I'd enchanted the cup earlier so if he somehow survived the other three, he would be killed by the cup."

"But it didn't work," Severus said with a smug smile. "He overpowered Krum and the Delacour girl, and convinced Diggory to take the cup. You failed, so you had to come up with a fresh way to kill him. What were you going to do, bore him to death with your monologue about how ingenious you'd been?"

"I was just going to kill him," Barty answered. "And I would have had the chance if you hadn't interrupted. How did you know where he was anyway, last I saw you Severus, you were rushing off with Lucius Malfoy."

"We went back to The Great Hall," Severus answered. "Lucius re-joined the other judges, including your father and I went back to the hospital wing with Dumbledore and the parents of the other champions. Madam Pomfrey told us you'd taken Harry."

"And you were suspicious of me?" Barty asked Dumbledore, raising a sceptical eyebrow at the old man. "But you trusted me."

"I did," Dumbledore replied with a nod. "But your actions made no sense. There was no reason for you to take Harry out of the hospital wing."

"I should have just killed him there and then," Barty snarled. "Bugger the consequences."

"It's too late for that now," Dumbledore remarked. "You've been caught, and you're going straight back to Azkaban. Although before we leave, I want to know what you've done with the real Alastor Moody."

"Not telling," Barty taunted, giving Dumbledore a smirk before he resolutely shut his mouth and refused to open it again.

Dumbledore ranted and raved at Barty, until Severus pointed out that the real Moody couldn't be too far away. Barty had clearly been using polyjuice potion to impersonate the real Moody, and to do that for so long it meant he had to have regular contact with the real Moody to keep topped up on ingredients. As such, logic dictated the real Moody was likely in school somewhere, probably close by to the Defence offices.

A quick search of the office, actually revealed the whereabouts of the real Moody. Dumbledore found him trapped in an enchanted chest, which Barty kept locked in the corner of the office. Dumbledore promised to free the real Moody, before turning back to Severus and Harry.

"Severus, take the imposter back to my office," Dumbledore ordered. "Once I've freed the real Alastor, I'll grab Fudge, Barty senior and the other judges and join you in my office."

"Can I head down to the Great Hall?" Harry asked. "I want to see my friends."

"You'll see them shortly," Dumbledore said. "For now, I want you to return to the hospital wing. Molly and Arthur are waiting there for you, and I'll send Mr Weasley and Miss Granger up to see you. Until everything's settled, I'd rather you stayed somewhere I knew you were safe. But don't worry, you won't miss tonight's fest, hopefully no-one will."

While Dumbledore turned back to deal with the trapped Moody, Severus hauled Barty to his feet and yanked him out of the office. Harry followed after his father, even though the pair couldn't really talk since they weren't alone. After leaving the Defence office, they walked together until they reached the floor the hospital wing was on.

"Can you manage to get back to the hospital wing on your own?" Severus checked.

"I'll be fine," Harry replied.

"Good," Severus said with a nod. "I'm going to go and make sure this scumbag gets what he deserves."

"I'm sure you will," Harry said with a smirk as he set off towards the hospital wing.

He knew somehow his father would get Barty Crouch Jr to his grandfather, it was just a shame he would miss the entire thing. Instead, he had to go and play nice with the Weasleys while he waited for an opportunity to speak to Hermione and Draco and tell them everything that had happened.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

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Lucius was rather stunned when Dumbledore entered the Great Hall and pulled the Minister for Magic, several members of staff and the judges to one side to reveal he knew who'd put Harry's name into the Goblet of Fire. However, he wouldn't be drawn on the subject in front of the students, who were gathered in the room awaiting a final announcement on the winner of the tournament. Instead, he quickly addressed the students, informing them that snacks would be served and for the time being they were to remain in the Great Hall. He then quietly spoke to Hermione and Ron, giving them permission to go and see Harry in the hospital wing, before ushering a select few people out of the Great Hall and up towards his office.

"Severus has the culprit in my office," Dumbledore explained. "Although, Minerva could you go to Alastor's office and see to him. He'll fill you in on what's happened, and I'll be there as soon as I can."

McGonagall didn't look happy to be excluded from the group, but she dutifully nodded her head and went off to see what was happening with Alastor Moody. The rest of the group headed up to Dumbledore's office, where they found Severus waiting for them with Barty Crouch Jr strapped to a chair. The second he saw his son, Barty Crouch senior tried to back out of the room, but Dumbledore had blocked the way to the door.

"You're staying, Barty," Dumbledore said. "I think you've got some explaining to do."

"Take a seat, Dad," Barty sneered. "You can tell them how you smuggled me out of Azkaban and let Mum rot in my place."

"She was already dying," Crouch whispered, slumping down into a chair. "What happened to you killed her, I was just making sure she died happy, knowing you weren't stuck in that place for the rest of your life."

"Let me get this straight, are you confessing to breaking a prisoner out of Azkaban?" Fudge asked his long-time colleague.

"I am," Crouch answered with a nod, surrendering his wand when Fudge asked for it.

"Maybe we can get cells next to one another, won't that be a treat," Barty sneered sarcastically.

"I'm starting to form a picture in my head, but will someone please fill in the blanks," Lucius said.

Dumbledore and Severus quickly told the story of how Barty Crouch had been posing as Alastor Moody and how he'd entered Harry into the tournament. Once the explanation of what had been happening had taken place, they began to talk about what would happen next. After a few minutes it was decided that Fudge and Lucius would accompany the two Crouches back to the Ministry and they would be dealt with there.

"We'll be back this evening for the celebration feast," Fudge told Dumbledore. "You might want to wait to announce the overall champion until then."

"Of course," Dumbledore nodded. "It'll also give me a chance to make sure all the champions will feel up to attending the feast."

While Fudge and Dumbledore were discussing the feast, Severus managed to pull Lucius to one side and the pair managed to have a whispered conversation of their own, where it was decided that Lucius would get Crouch Jr away from the Ministry and to Voldemort. The Dark Lord needed to deal with him, and they both eager to see what happened to the man who'd tried to kill his grandson.

The elder Crouch stood up to leave without a fuss, but despite being restrained his son didn't go quite as easily. Luckily Lucius was able to step in and assist the Minister in getting him back to the Ministry, which gave him the perfect opportunity to swipe Crouch's wand from the Minster's robes. When they arrived at the Ministry they were in Fudge's office and Crouch Jr was immediately tied to a chair and he continued to rant and rave about his capture.

"I think you need to go and get the Aurors, Lucius," Fudge said with a sigh. "I'll stay with the prisoners."

Lucius nodded and slipped out of the Minister's office. However, instead of leaving the outer office, he merely locked the door and turned back to the inner office. Cracking the door back open, he slipped Crouch's wand through the crack and sent a stunning spell at Fudge. The second the Minister fell to the ground, Lucius rushed into the room and grabbed his wand.

"Don't move," He ordered Crouch Senior, who'd gotten to his feet when Fudge collapsed.

"What are you doing Lucius?" Crouch cried.

"Making sure justice is served," Lucius answered, pointing Fudge's wand at Crouch. "Avada Kedavra!"

"Ha," Barty cried triumphantly. "I always knew you were a good man, Lucius. I've always said you were loyal to the Dark Lord."

"Yes, I am," Lucius replied as he wiped his fingerprints off Fudge's wand and dropped it back down beside his prone body. "And that's why I'm taking you to see him."

"Excellent," Barty said with a grin. "Untie me then."

Using Crouch's wand, he untied Barty. However, before the younger wizard had a chance to revel in his freedom, Lucius had pulled his own wand out and froze him on the spot.

"What are you doing?" Barty cried, trying in vain to move.

"Taking you to The Dark Lord for your punishment," Lucius answered as he mentally checked everything was in place.

Lucius's plan was to return, go to the Aurors and come back to find Crouch dead and Fudge stunned. Any investigation should reveal that Crouch overpowered Fudge, got back his wand and stunned him. He'd then freed his son, who'd stolen Fudge's wand, killed his father and escaped yet again. Satisfied that everything was in place, Lucius grabbed hold of Barty and flooed them to The Leaky Cauldron, before instantly carrying on to the manor before anyone at the pub had the chance to spot them. The additional trip to The Leaky Cauldron would throw the Aurors off the scent, as they'd then not be able to trace a further floo connection to the manor from a public connection.

Ten minutes later, Lucius returned to Fudge's office and carried out the rest of his plan. Heading to the Auror department, he quickly found an Auror, Kingsley Shackelbolt, and informed him of what had happened. Kingsley grabbed a young female Auror with bright bubble-gum pink hair, and the pair headed back to Fudge's office with Lucius. Once there, they'd found the scene Lucius had set up and as expected, they'd reached the conclusions he'd wanted them to.

As far as the Ministry was concerned, Barty Crouch had escaped after killing his father. They had no idea he was in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor, waiting for The Dark Lord to take his retribution on him.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N – I just want to thank you all for your wonderful reviews. As some of you may have noticed, there's some sort of problem with the reviews not showing up on the site at the moment, however, I've read the reviews via my e-mails and I'm thrilled that people are still enjoying this story. I hope people enjoy the last couple of chapters of year four. There will be a longer than normal gap before I post year five as I'm still working on it, and I had a break over Christmas with my writing. However, it's top of my priority list so hopefully it won't take too long to finish.** **For now, enjoy the rest of year four.**

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The third task was pure torture for Hermione as she sat in the stands not knowing what was going on with Harry. Of course it didn't help when red sparks rose from the maze, and she had no idea what was happening. Even when Viktor Krum was escorted from the maze and herded up to school, Hermione still had no idea what was going on down in the maze. Not long after that the same happened with Fleur Delacour, meaning it was just Harry and Cedric left in the maze.

What followed was more torture as Hermione waited for the winner to be announced. All of a sudden, the sky lit up with fireworks and Cedric's name was spelt out for everyone to see.

"It looks like Cedric's the winner," Ron remarked with a disappointed sigh.

"Looks like it," Hermione replied as she strained to see any sign of Harry.

However, what she did see was a flurry of activity from the Professors, and even Lucius, at one side of the maze. Ignoring the cheering going on around her as people celebrated Cedric's win, Hermione focused on what was happening with the maze. Finally some of the Professors came back into view, but Hermione couldn't see any sign of her nephew. Scouring everywhere, he finally spotted figures heading back up to the castle, and she thought one of them looked like Harry. It also looked like Severus and Lucius were with him as well, so at least she wasn't worried about Harry being alone.

"Attention!" McGonagall suddenly called, raising her wand and emitting a loud bang that caused silence to fall. "Everyone is to file back to the Great Hall. You are to remain there, until further notice."

"Again?" Ron grumbled. "Why do they always do this? I'm sick of being stuck in the Great Hall whenever something is going on."

"What do you think is going on?" Ginny asked, practically gluing herself to Ron's side as they made their way down the stands and up towards the castle.

"I don't know, but it can't be good," Hermione muttered. "Four people went into that maze, and not one of them came out of their own accord. Krum and Fleur were both taken up to the hospital wing, and I could have sworn I saw Harry and Cedric being taken up to the castle as well."

"Damn, I hope they tell us something," Ron said.

Surprisingly, there was an announcement once everyone was in the Great Hall. McGonagall explained that three of the champions had been enchanted, and Cedric was suffering from serious injuries. She reassured everyone that all four champions were alive, and they would all be fine. But for now, they were seeking medical treatment.

"And we're stuck here," Hermione grumbled. Finding Draco, she saw her boyfriend was just as worried as her and she wished she could go over to him. Instead, she was stuck with Ron and Ginny while Draco remained with the Slytherins.

For a while nothing happened, and then Dumbledore arrived and spoke to the adults. Surprisingly he then approached Hermione and Ron and told them they could go and visit Harry in the hospital wing. Ginny pouted about not being allowed to go, but Dumbledore only mentioned Hermione and Ron being allowed to see him. Not needing to be told twice, Hermione rushed off to see Harry with Ron hot on her heels.

"Harry," Hermione cried, entering the hospital wing and finding her nephew sitting on a bed with Molly and Arthur hovering at his side.

"Hermione." Harry smiled at his aunt as she rushed over and crushed him in a hug.

"Be careful," Molly instructed with a disapproving glare at Hermione. "He's been through a lot, you shouldn't hug him so hard."

"Honestly, I'm fine," Harry insisted as he felt Hermione stiffen in his arms.

Ignoring Molly, Hermione let go of Harry and took a good look at her nephew. "Are you sure?" She checked, running her hand down his cheek.

"Hermione, you're his friend, not his mother. Stop fussing," Ron said, pushing Hermione to one side as he joined her at Harry's bedside.

"Excuse me for caring," Hermione huffed, perching herself on Harry's bed.

"It's easy to go overboard," Molly said, patting Hermione awkwardly on the shoulder. "Sometimes you need to learn to back off."

Hermione bit back a retort about how Molly should follow her own advice. Swallowing her annoyance at the Weasleys, she turned back to Harry and asked him what happened.

"It was Moody. Well, Barty Crouch Junior posing as Moody," Harry replied, before launching into a full explanation about what had happened.

"Wow," Ron muttered when Harry had finished talking. "What do you think will happen to him?"

"He'll likely end up back in Azkaban," Arthur answered. "Alongside his father, I'd bet."

"I hope he rots in there," Ron said forcefully.

"Here, here," Molly agreed. "Awful man, working for You-Know-Who."

"But Harry said he wasn't working for Voldemort," Hermione argued, inwardly smirking at the way Molly and Arthur winced at her father's name.

"Semantics," Molly said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Just because You-Know-Who wasn't aware of the plan, doesn't mean he wouldn't approve. He probably would have tried something like this himself if he'd had the opportunity."

"Well, I guess we'll never know," Hermione replied.

"I don't suppose it really matters," Arthur said, trying to avoid any disagreements. "All that matters is that Harry and the others are fine."

"Are they?" Hermione checked, looking at the other beds. All the champions' were in beds, with their families gathered around them. Fleur and Viktor were awake, but Cedric was still lying unmoving in his bed.

"They are," Harry replied with a nod. "Before you got here, I spoke to Fleur and Viktor. Neither of them remember what happened, but they apologised for trying to kill me. Not that it's their fault, they were victims just like me."

"And what about Cedric?" Ron asked. "Will he be okay?"

"He will be," Harry answered with a relieved sigh. He still felt bad about what had happened to Cedric, despite knowing he wasn't to know about the cup and he couldn't have predicted the result. "I was able to get the cup off him before it could do any major damage. He'll likely have a headache and be sore when he wakes up, but after a few days rest he'll be fine."

"So he'll miss the champion's feast tonight?" Ron questioned. "That sucks."

"I don't know, if he's awake he might be able to attend," Harry replied. "Madam Pomfrey just said he'll need rest, she didn't say he had to stay in bed."

"Do you need rest?" Hermione checked with Harry. "We can go if you need to rest."

"No, don't go," Harry said, grabbing hold of Hermione's hand.

Hermione looked at her nephew and gave him a smile, aware that the Weasleys were watching their interaction with narrowed eyes. Ron especially seemed to be radiating annoyance, but she couldn't care less. Let them think what they liked, she'd been worried about Harry and she was so relieved he was alright.

Before anyone could address the closeness between Harry and Hermione, Professor McGonagall entered the hospital wing. After a brief conversation with Madam Pomfrey, she headed over to Harry's bed and told him he was free to return to Gryffindor Tower.

"Really?" Harry checked with a wide smile. "I can get out of here."

"Yes, and you can all return to Gryffindor Tower," McGonagall answered. "The celebration feast will take place this evening, but until then you're to remain up in your dorms."

"Have you had any word from the Ministry about the Crouches?" Arthur asked.

"I was just going to go and see Albus, come with me," McGonagall offered to Molly and Arthur.

Molly and Arthur headed off with McGonagall, while Harry, Hermione and Ron went back to Gryffindor tower. When they entered Gryffindor Tower, Harry was greeted like a hero. He may not have won the Triwizard Tournament, but the Gryffindors were still proud of him. And of course, they all wanted to hear about what had happened. By the time Harry had recounted his story yet again, he was an even bigger hero. Not only had he saved Cedric, but he'd made sure Viktor and Fleur weren't hurt and were rescued from the maze.

"Let's hear it for Harry Potter," George cried. "Gryffindor's champion."

Cries of 'Harry Potter, Gryffindor's champion', rang around the common room as people cheered for Harry. Feeling slightly overwhelmed, Harry accepted the praise all the while insisting he wasn't a hero. He'd just been unfortunate enough to have someone out to get him, and thanks to his friends, he'd managed to survive the ordeal. Of course by friends, Harry meant Hermione and Draco, but Ron thought he meant him and was basking in the reflected glory.

The celebrations continued until it was dinner time, and people began heading down to the Great Hall in hopes that the celebration feast would take place. Harry and Hermione hung back from the crowd, while Ron was swept away with Neville, Dean and Seamus. The result meant Harry and Hermione were able to walk down to dinner together, and enjoy the fact that nothing had happened to Harry.

When the pair reached the ground floor, a sombre looking Dumbledore approached Harry and asked if he could have a word. Pulling Hermione with him, Harry followed Dumbledore into an empty classroom. Dumbledore gave Hermione a questioning look, before shrugging his shoulder and turning to Harry.

"I have some bad news," He said quietly. "Barty Crouch has escaped."

"He's what?" Harry cried, even though the news wasn't a total shock. Although he was betting, Barty had been taken to see his grandfather.

"Don't worry, he'll not get back into the castle," Dumbledore said reassuringly. "You're safe here Harry."

"What happened?" Hermione asked. "Harry said he was being escorted to the Ministry."

"He was, that's where he escaped from," Dumbledore answered. "I'm sure it'll be all over the papers tomorrow, but you might as well hear it from me. The Minister and Lucius Malfoy escorted the Crouches to the Ministry, and the Minister sent Lucius for some Aurors. When they returned, the Minister was lying stunned on the floor, Crouch senior was dead and his son missing."

"What happened?" Harry asked, wondering how Lucius had pulled off such a stunt.

"An investigation is still ongoing, but it would appear Crouch overpowered the Minister, stole his wand back and stunned him. He then freed his son, but his son grabbed the Minister's wand and killed his father," Dumbledore explained. "The Aurors tracked Barty Junior to The Leaky Cauldron, via the floo in the Minister's office, but from there the track goes cold. I'm sure they'll catch him, but he's not a threat to you anymore, Harry. Chances are he's run off back to Voldemort."

"I expect so," Harry said with a nod. He was confident Barty Crouch was indeed with his grandfather, but he doubted he would be receiving the welcome he'd hoped.

"Now, we better get along to this feast," Dumbledore said, forcing some light-heartedness into his tone. "We've got a champion to crown."

"Is Cedric awake?" Harry asked as they left the classroom.

"He's at the feast, but he's still weak," Dumbledore answered. "But you'll see for yourself in a minute."

Sure enough, when they entered the Great Hall, Hermione and Harry easily spotted Cedric. He was sitting at the Hufflepuff table, but a lot of people were lining up to offer him their congratulations before taking their own seat. Harry and Hermione joined the queue to speak to Cedric, and when they reached the front they both congratulated him.

"I'm not sure I should be the one winning," Cedric said. "You saved me, Harry. You deserve the win, not me."

"No, you deserve it, Cedric," Harry insisted with a smile. "You're the rightful champion, so enjoy it."

"Thanks again," Cedric said, shaking hands with Harry. "I owe you my life."

"Well, you didn't kill me so we can call it quits," Harry joked.

Leaving Cedric to speak to a few more people, Harry and Hermione headed to the Gryffindor table and sat down. As they did so, Harry glanced over at the Slytherin table and found Draco watching him. Shooting his friend a quick smile, he settled down beside Hermione to enjoy the celebration feast. He was looking forward to catching up with Draco, but right now, he was just happy to have survived the day.

* * *

 **C.** **O.** **T.** **D.**

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While Hogwarts celebrated the end of the Triwizard Tournament, and crowned Cedric the champion, The Dark Lord was dealing with Barty Crouch. All year he'd been recruiting followers, some old and some new, and he'd gathered most of them at an old mansion that had once belonged to his father's family. Of course to Voldemort the mansion was a revolting place and reminded him of his hated father, but it was quiet and deserted and suited his purpose.

"I'm sure many of you have heard about what's being happening up at Hogwarts," Voldemort began, pacing the room as his Death Eaters stood before him. "Well, I'm not happy about it. No-one acts in my name, without my permission."

Waving his wand, a cloud of black smoke rose from the ground in front of him. When the smoke cleared, Barty Crouch was lying on the floor, his hands and feet tied behind his back.

"This worm thought it was acceptable to try and kill someone in my name," Voldemort snarled, giving Barty a painful kick to the ribs. "I won't have it. You're my Death Eaters, and you'll do what I say. You won't go rushing off doing as you please."

"I was just trying to help you," Barty whispered.

"Did I ask for your help?" Voldemort barked. "No, I didn't." Turning away from Barty, he started to address his Death Eaters again. "I don't need clowns trying to prove themselves to me, I need loyal supporters to work towards the goal I have in mind. This is just a quick reminder of what happens if you cross me." Turning back to the wizard on the floor, he smirked evilly as he pointed his wand at him. "Crucio!"

Barty yelled in pain as the Cruciatius curse wrecked his body. The more he screamed, the harder Voldemort pressed and the more pain in he was in. Just when it looked like he was going to pass out, Voldemort dropped the curse. However, he didn't stop, he just unleashed a torrent of other nasty curses on his former follower. When Barty was a whimpering mess, blood pouring from his nose, mouth and several deep cuts, Voldemort recast the Cruciatius curse, causing even more pain than his first attempt.

"All you had to do was come to me, Barty," Voldemort said, shaking his head he dropped the curse again and squatted down beside a nearly unconscious Barty. "I would have been pleased to see you. I've always valued you, and I was rather saddened when I heard you'd died in Azkaban. I would have welcomed you back, and brought you into my plans. But you acted rashly, and for that, you've got to go." Standing back up, Voldemort moved so that all his followers could see Barty and what was about to happen to him. "Avada Kedavra."

The burst of green light, ended Barty's life and shot a strong warning around the Death Eaters. Voldemort wasn't to be messed with, and he wouldn't tolerate people going off track. He was the boss, and you did what he said, or you would regret it. He wasn't interested in people trying to impress him, all he wanted was people who were loyal to him that he could trust.

"No-one is to go after Harry Potter again," He announced in a firm voice. "This time next year, he won't be a problem. More importantly, neither will Albus Dumbledore. Stick with me, and we'll get what we want. We'll take back the wizarding world, and stop this influence of muggles in our world. But go against me, and you'll regret it. I intend to crush my enemies, and no-one in this room wants to become my enemy. Do they?"

Voldemort smirked as the cries of loyalty came back at him. Satisfied his followers had received the message about going behind his back, he dismissed them. Finally the room was empty, bar himself, Barty's body and one lone Death Eater.

"Well, was I clear enough?" He asked.

"You were," Beth replied, pulling off her mask and joining her husband at Barty's body. "And this bastard got what he deserved. I can't believe he put our Harry through all of that."

"Our grandson is tough," Voldemort said with a proud smirk. "Which is good, he's going to need it next year. We all will."

"Do you really think we can get rid of Dumbledore next year?" Beth asked.

Voldemort nodded as he pulled his wife into his arms. "I do. We're going to get rid of him, and Harry and Hermione won't have to hide any more. Next year will be a fresh start for our family. It's going to be the beginning of our march to victory."

Leaning down, Voldemort connected his lips with Beth, and without breaking the kiss he spirited them back to their house, leaving Barty's body for the rats to feast upon.


	27. Chapter 27

After the dramatics of the final task and the end of the Triwizard Tournament, life at Hogwarts settled down dramatically for the final couple of months of school. The students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons left a few days after the final task, in order to get back to their own schools to take their end of year exams, while focus at Hogwarts also switched to the exams.

Like the previous year, Hogwarts also found itself without a Defence Professor for the end of term. Dumbledore did try and persuade the real Moody to stay on, and take up the offer he'd accepted during the summer, but understandably he turned the offer down as he wanted to recuperate from spending months trapped in a trunk at the mercy of a mad man. As a result, Dumbledore took over the teaching as he had the previous year.

Finally the end of fourth year arrived and Harry and Hermione settled down on The Hogwarts Express to enjoy the train ride home. Of course, they still had to put up with Ron and Ginny for the next few hours, but at least there would be some freedom for them at the end of the journey.

"What a year," Ron remarked, putting his feet up on the chair opposite him and earning an unimpressed look from Hermione, who was sitting in the corner with Crookshanks curled up on her lap. "I'm exhausted."

"You're exhausted? How do you think Harry feels, he's the one who's being competing in a deadly tournament," Hermione retorted.

"It was nothing," Harry said with a bashful smile.

"It wasn't nothing, it was amazing. You were amazing," Ginny gushed with a dreamy sigh. Over the course of the last year she'd dropped her crush on Draco, but her crush on Harry was getting stronger with each passing year.

"You were pretty impressive mate," Ron agreed. "I'm just sorry I was such a git at the beginning of the year."

"These things happen," Harry replied with a shrug.

To be honest, the incident had just shown him that when the chips were down, Ron couldn't be relied upon. Which of course would make things easier when the truth came out and he inevitably lost Ron's friendship. It would be hard to grieve for a friendship that wasn't all that strong to begin with. And of course, Harry knew that Hermione would be thrilled to be rid of Ron as she found the Weasleys, apart from the twins, hard work.

"At least you got through the year unscathed," Ron said. "That's all that matters."

"I guess so, but it's a bit of a worry that you're happy to survive a year at school," Harry mused. "Do most people worry about stuff like that?"

"You are Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived," Ginny pointed out. "It's only natural your life is going to be in more danger than most."

"I don't know Gin, I think we've all had our fair share of danger over these last four years," Ron said with a thoughtful look on his face.

"I suppose we have," Ginny agreed, remembering her own ordeal two years previously.

"And it's only going to get worse," Ron continued. "To be honest I think we were lucky that nothing's really happened after You-Know-Who's returned. I don't think he's going to be quiet forever."

"What do you think he's going to do?" Ginny asked, nervously biting her lower lip.

"Who knows?" Ron shrugged. "But he's likely going to try and recruit some more followers. A lot of them ended up in Azkaban after the first war. However, some of them are still knocking about, and now they have children to offer for the cause."

"Are you seriously suggesting children are going to become Death Eaters?" Hermione asked with a snort.

"Yes, I am," Ron answered with a firm nod. "I'd bet you anything that Malfoy and his cronies all join You-Know-Who."

"I'm sure Voldemort wouldn't let kids join his ranks," Harry said with a laugh. In actual fact he didn't know what his grandfather was going to do, although he could see him giving Draco the mark in a few years' time at a relatively young age.

"I'd bet he would," Ron argued. "The man's pure evil Harry, it'll not bother him if he's using kids to get what he wants."

"As opposed to Dumbledore, who would never do anything like that," Hermione muttered under her breath.

Harry, who was sitting beside her, heard what she'd said, but Ron and Ginny didn't hear and they carried on discussing Voldemort and what would possibly happen in the wizarding world. Leaving the Weasleys to their conversation, Harry and Hermione stayed out of things the best they could. Eventually the two redheads got bored of talking about Voldemort, and they pulled out a pack of cards and convinced Harry to have a game of exploding snap while Hermione pulled out a book and began to read.

The rest of the journey passed in peace, and Hermione was so lost in her book that she didn't even realise they were nearing London until Ginny let out a loud sigh. Looking up to see what was bothering the redhead, she got a shock when she realised King's Cross Station was only about another ten minutes away.

"Come on Crooks," She cooed, stroking her ginger cat. "It's time to get you back in your cage."

"That cat is so smart," Ginny said in awe as Crookshanks just walked into his carry case when Hermione opened the door.

"He is part Kneazle," Hermione said with a shrug.

"I think he's adorable," Ginny said, cooing at Crookshanks through his cage while Ron looked on in disgust. Ron still didn't like Crookshanks, and he was convinced the cat hated him.

By the time the train pulled into the station ten minutes later, Harry and Hermione were raring to go. Getting off the train with Ron and Ginny, Hermione quickly spotted her mother. While Hermione rushed over to her mother, Harry found himself swept up with Weasleys.

"Are your Aunt and Uncle here?" Molly asked as she fussed over Harry, trying to smooth his hair down.

"I'll meet them in the muggle part of the station as usual," Harry replied.

"You really shouldn't be wandering around alone, especially not at times like these," Molly said with a scowl.

"I'll just go with Hermione and her mother as normal," Harry said, wriggling out of the older witch's grasp.

"Maybe we should walk you out," Molly said thoughtfully. "It'll be safer if you've got magical people around you."

"It's best you don't," Harry said, thinking on his feet. "My Uncle isn't comfortable around magic. I don't know how he'd react to a whole magical family."

"Harry, are you coming with us?" Hermione called from nearby.

"Yeah," Harry called back, before giving Molly a small smile. "Really, I'll be fine, Mrs Weasley."

"I suppose so," Molly agreed with a sigh. "But we'll see you in the holidays, won't we? You'll come and visit, I insist."

"I'll look forward to it," Harry said with a forced smile. "But I really have to go now. See you later."

"See you later Harry. I'll write as soon as I can and we can arrange for you to come and stay," Ron vowed.

Pretending he was happy at the prospect of visiting the Weasleys, Harry gave them a wave before hurrying over to Hermione and Beth. Without looking back the trio passed through the barrier into the muggle world and exited the station. From there they apparated home, where Harry and Hermione could finally be themselves.

"Where's Father?" Hermione asked, frowning when she entered the front room and found no sign of Voldemort.

"He's busy with Lucius," Beth replied. "He'll be home for dinner along with Severus." Turning to Harry, she pulled her step-grandson into her arms. "I'm so glad you're okay sweetheart. I've been so worried about you."

"At least now it's all sorted," Harry said, quite happy to stay in Beth's arms for a few minutes. "It is all sorted, isn't it?"

"It's all taken care of," Beth reassured him. "Barty Crouch junior got what was coming to him. He won't be bothering anyone ever again."

"He's dead?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

"He is," Beth confirmed with a nod as she let Harry out of her embrace. "And you don't have to worry about any other Death Eaters coming after you, Harry. Your Grandfather made it clear you're not to be touched."

"How many Death Eaters does Father have?" Hermione questioned.

"A considerable few," Beth said. "His numbers are growing daily. We're nearly ready to strike."

"Strike?" Harry repeated with interest. "Strike how? Will this enable us to drop this act?"

"With a bit of luck," Beth answered with a smile. "But we can discuss this further over dinner. I don't want to say more than I should."

"No, you just want to tease us," Hermione responded with a fake pout.

Beth merely chuckled in response as she headed off to make sure dinner was on track. While they waited for dinner to be ready, Hermione and Harry headed off upstairs to unpack their trunks. By the time they'd unpacked, changed for dinner and returned back downstairs they found Severus had arrived from Hogwarts for the holidays.

The pair were still greeting Severus when Beth appeared in the front room with Narcissa and Draco. Forgetting about the adults, Hermione hurried over to Draco and greeted him by planting her lips firmly on his. Severus and Harry both chuckled at the young couple, while Narcissa and Beth stared at their children in shock. However, it was Draco and Hermione who got the biggest shock when they heard someone clearing their throat and they turned round to find Voldemort standing in the doorway, an amused looking Lucius right behind him.

"Bloody hell," Draco muttered, his mind automatically going back to the conversations he'd had with Harry and Severus regarding his relationship with Hermione. Now it looked as though he had to face the toughest task of all, dealing with her father.

"This is an unexpected development," Voldemort remarked, his face betraying nothing of his feelings on the subject.

"You mean Severus didn't tell you?" Hermione asked in genuine disbelief.

"No, Severus failed to mention it," Voldemort replied, arching an eyebrow at his son.

"It slipped my mind," Severus answered with a smirk.

"I bet it also slipped his mind that he's got a new girlfriend," Hermione said, determined to take some of the heat off her and Draco.

"Really?" Voldemort seemed genuinely surprised as he looked over at his son. "He failed to mention that as well."

"It's early days," Severus said through clenched teeth. He really could strangle Hermione for playing the part of annoying little sister so well. "But, I'm sure you don't want to talk about my love life when Hermione has her first boyfriend."

"No, that's much more interesting," Voldemort agreed, turning back to his daughter and her boyfriend. "I'll be looking forward to hearing all about the new developments between the pair of you over dinner."

Hermione let out a groan at the prospect of a grilling over dinner. Sure enough most of dinner was spent questioning Draco and Hermione about their relationship. Harry found the whole thing hilarious as he watched his best friend jump through hoops to keep on Voldemort's good side. He'd never seen Draco as nervous as he was over dinner, but luckily by the end of the meal Voldemort put Draco out of his misery and announced he was happy for the pair. Although, like with Harry and Severus before him, his approval came with a stern warning not to hurt Hermione.

"Damn, if you every break her heart you're going to be in trouble," Harry whispered to Draco as they made their way into the front room after dinner. "You'd have three of us gunning for you."

"I'd be more worried about what Hermione would do to me," Draco confessed. "But that's not going to be an issue. I won't hurt her."

"I know you won't," Harry replied with a low chuckle. He'd always known Draco wasn't likely to hurt Hermione, but even so, it had seemed the right thing to make sure his best friend knew that Hermione was his family and as such, she came before him if things went wrong.

"So," Hermione said, giving her father a sweet smile as everyone sat down. "Do we get to hear about your plans? I mean, besides getting Dumbledore sacked over the holidays."

"Don't get your hopes us there, Hermione," Voldemort said with a chuckle. "I'm not ready for Dumbledore to leave Hogwarts just yet."

"But you said we had to keep up the act as long as he's at the school," Hermione protested with a pout. "I'm sick of the act, I want to be myself."

"And you will," Voldemort replied, giving his daughter a patient smile. "I want Dumbledore at school next year, because I want to see his face when he finds out the truth. I want to watch him crumble as he finds out three people he trusted aren't who he thinks they are."

"The truth's coming out next year?" Harry asked with an excited grin.

"It is," Voldemort confirmed with a nod. "The act is nearly over. This time next year, everyone will know who my family are. Everyone will know I have a son, a daughter and a grandson. Next year is the beginning of our ascension into power."

Harry and Hermione shared a thrilled grin at Voldemort's announcement. It looked like the following year at Hogwarts was going to be their best one so far.

 **T** **h** **e** **E** **n** **d** **.**

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 **A/N – Thanks to everyone for reading year 4 of COTD. There will be a gap before I post fifth year as I'm still working on it and it still has a decent way to go. With having a break for Christmas, the fact each year is getting longer, and not wanting to abandon the other stories I'm writing, it means I'm not quite as far on with year five as I'd hoped I would be. But even with several weeks break, year five will be uploaded as soon as it's ready to go, and of course I'll post a note on this story to let people know when it arrives. But for now, thanks again for reading and giving me such amazing support for this series. See you soon.**


	28. sequel notification

**Sorry for the delay, but I just realised that I'd forgotten to put a quick note on here to say Children of the Dark – Year 5 is now up. So year 5 is now up, and sorry for the delay in mentioning it.**


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